Two young murder victims were buried in the wrong graves, the mother and sister of one of the teens say. The city of Worcester, Massachusetts, which owns the cemetery, laid blame with the funeral home.
K’Shaun Webster, 17, and Dante Carlor, 16, were found shot July 19, 2020 in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester, said local police. They were taken to local hospitals and pronounced dead. Monday was the one-year anniversary, and the case remains unsolved. Dante’s mother Jamilla Carlor told WBZ-TV in a Monday report that the teens were buried in each other’s gravesites,
The plan was to set the boys side by side at Hope Cemetery in the city of Worcester.
In Jamilla’s account, extended family were not able to go to the funeral because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The switch-up was revealed after visitors to her son sent photos.
“When people would go visit my son and take pictures, they would be standing on where K’Shaun was buried and vice versa,” said Jamilla.
“I noticed it had the wrong number,” Dante’s sister Jaliah said, referring to the deed.
According to Jamilla, the cemetery told her they had to verify that the boys were in each other’s gravesites. The families were told they had to exhume one of the teens. The city asked them which one. Neither mother wanted this. The cemetery decided to exhume Dante’s remains, and they confirmed the switch-up.
“How do you make such a drastic mistake and have no sympathy or empathy or any kind of feelings to help resolve the situation?” Jaliah said. “They let it prolong so long.”
The families said nothing happened even after the confirmation. The city, however, reportedly addressed the situation after WBZ-TV reached out about this, moving Dante’s headstone that was put on K’Shaun’s grave. Officials threw the George Lopes Funeral Home under the bus for the original switch-up.
“The families of K’Shaun Webster and Dante Carlor suffered unimaginable losses with the deaths of those two young men last year,” they said in a statement obtained by the outlet. “Their losses were compounded with the inexplicable placement by the George Lopes Funeral Home of the caskets of the two victims in the wrong plots at Hope Cemetery. As soon as the City of Worcester was made aware of this issue, we reached out to the funeral home multiple times to confirm. The funeral home never responded to the City. We continued to work closely with the family, and partnering with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, worked diligently to resolve the matter. Recently, with the consent of the families and the help of Mercadante Funeral Home in Worcester, we were able to confirm that the two victims had indeed been placed in the wrong plots. With the anniversary of the deaths of K’Shaun and Dante approaching, we are taking the necessary steps to remedy this situation. We hope this helps their families and friends enjoy some measure of peace and comfort.”
Law&Crime reached out to the George Lopes Funeral Home. We left a message with a staffer, who told us the owner is out of the country until July 31st.
The investigation into K’Shaun and Dante’s deaths remains ongoing.
“Any time someone is murdered, the pain reverberates through families and communities,” Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement obtained by Law&Crime. “A life is stolen and can never be returned. That horror was compounded by an careless error that caused even more pain for the loved ones of Dante Carlor, who was 16, and K’shaun Webster, 17. My office and the victim witness advocate team are here for their loved ones. The investigation into their murders is ongoing.”
Boston Police Sgt. John Boyle told Law&Crime that the investigation is ongoing. He declined to release information outside the scope of the 2020 press statement, citing the ongoing investigation.
Police released tipline contact information at the time of teens’ deaths. From last July:
The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident and is asking anyone with information relative to this investigation to contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470.
Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to assist this investigation in an anonymous manner.
To those who find themselves in need of emotional support or simply needing to talk to someone about distressing events in our community, the Boston Neighborhood Trauma Team (NTT) provides free, private support 24/7 at (617) 431-0125 or by visiting BPHC.org/trauma.
[Screengrab of the George Lopes Funeral Home via WBZ-TV]
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