What happens to the bodies of mass killers?
Burying the pepetrators of mass killings can be complicated, for good reason.
Cemetaries are often reluctant to accept the burial of a mass killer, fearing an outcry, and once a burial site’s found, it frequently must be kept secret. Families fear the burial place will be defaced by people upset over the actions of the killer. But authorities also fear that graves could become a place of worship for those who supported the individual’s actions.
The problem of what to do with the body can be particularly acute when the perpetrator is Muslim, because Islam prohibits cremation.
Here’s a look at what has happened to the pepetraors of mass shootings:
Orlando
Omar Mateen killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida last week. His death certificate lists his final resting place as the only entirely Muslim cemetery in South Florida.
San Bernardino
Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people in San Bernardino in December 2015. They are buried at a California cemetery far from their home because a closer graveyard would not take the bodies.
Boston Marathon
Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar killed three people after they planted bombs at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. Tamerlan was killed as police pursued the suspects, and his uncle struggled to find a site that would accept his body. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Virginia.
Sandy Hook
Adam Lanza killed 26 people when he open fired in Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. He also shot his mother before he carried out the school rampage. His father claimed his body but the burial site is unknown.
Virginia Tech
Sueng-Hui Cho killed 32 people at Virginia Tech University in 2007. He is reportedly buried in Virginia but no further details are known.
Columbine
Dylan Klebold and Ryan Harris killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999. Klebold’s body was cremated and his family held a small memorial service. Harris’ family did not make his burial site public.
This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 6:57 PM with the headline "What happens to the bodies of mass killers?."