NEW WINDSOR – Town Police in New Windsor are investigating damage to close to 100 headstones from gravesites and damage to several other items on the property to Calvary Cemetery in the intersection of Routes 9W and 94.
Police said the vandalism appears to have been committed some time between Saturday afternoon, July 27 and Monday morning, July 29.
Former cemetery superintendent Harry Birch may have a lead on the suspects. “My wife was sick, so I walked the dog and sat on the bench in the front of the cemetery. Saturday night around 9 or 10 at night, I saw three teenagers walk up the hill,” Birch said. “The next day, this is what I found. So I have a feeling it was those three young kids.”
He also described them as being African-American and around six feet tall.
The affected graves were randomly scattered, with some being destroyed in a consecutive line, while others were destroyed in random order far away from the others. Many statues that were part of the gravestones were also destroyed in the process, with some statues missing a head.
Despite the weight of the gravestones, Birch mentioned that the gravestones could be easily pushed over by pressing on the back with one’s foot.
The detective division is requesting the community’s assistance in identifying the person or persons responsible for the damage.
Detectives are interviewing people in the area, conducting neighborhood canvasses and reviewing video surveillance footage in the area.
Anyone with information about the incident, especially any video systems on their homes or businesses in the area and are willing to share the footage with police is asked to call the New Windsor department at 845-565-7000 or by email to kmoore@newwindsor-ny.gov.
All calls and emails will be kept confidential.
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