CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County family wants to know whose body is in a burial plot in Glasgow it had purchased more than 40 years ago.
The family also wants the State Police and the state Attorney General’s office to investigate the matter.
Norlena Mae Bess, individually and as administratrix of the estate of Barry Lee Hess, filed the complaint July 28 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens and related business entities. Other plaintiffs listed include Carrie Lynn Webb, Amanda Leigh Harless and John Franklin Dekota Hess.
Walters
“The corporate owner of the cemetery has provided mixed messages over whether the company knows whose body is in the grave and has failed on at least two occasions to offer a shred of evidence that the identity is known,” said Ron Walters Jr. of Walters Law Firm in Charleston. “The family further is troubled that the cemetery has been reported in the past to have been the scene of illicit drug activity.
“We believe that, not only is this lawsuit warranted, but so is an investigation by the State Police and the Attorney General’s Office.”
The defendants listed are StoneMor Partners LP doing business as Cornerstone Family Services of West Virginia Inc. doing business as Cornerstone Family Services of West Virginia Subsidiary Inc. doing business as Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens.
A division president from StoneMor Partners provided a statement to The West Virginia Record.
"This was a misburial that occurred in 1992," Jack Omer told The Record. "We purchased the cemetery in 2008. While this is a liability of the prior owner, we are working with the family to handle anything we can control on our end."
According to the complaint, William and Nancy Lee Bess bought adjoining burial plots at Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens in 1977. Their son and daughter-in-law Barry and Norlena Mae Bess bought plots right beside them as well. Nancy Bess was buried in 2008, and William Bess was buried in 2013.
In March 2020, Barry Bess died. When it was time to bury him, the family says an unknown body was discovered in his burial plot.
“A graveside service was held for Barry Lee Bess at the graveyard, but at a location different from the burial plot because of rain,” the complaint states. “Plaintiffs were informed by Roger Cook, the funeral director of Cook Funeral Home, that Barry’s grave could not be dug until the rain subsided and the ground dried.”
A week later, an employee of the defendants called Norlena Mae Bess to tell her Barry could be buried the following day. The same employee called again later in the day with an updated.
“There was a problem with the graveside: Defendants’ workers had discovered there was someone else buried in Barry Lee Bess’s grave,” the complaint states. “When asked who was buried there, defendants’ employee responded that they had no idea who is buried there, and that there is no record of who was buried there.”
The family went to the graveyard’s office and was told the defendants could relocate Norlena and Barry Bess’s gravesites to another area but not next to the graves of Barry’s parents, “thereby denying the family the burial plan they had depended on for over 40 years.”
The next day after the burial, defendant employee Lora Adkins had Norlena Bess sign documents on the hood of a vehicle. She says she was given no time to review these documents and wasn’t given copies of the documents she signed moments after burying her husband.
In May, the family met with Adkins again. She “noted immediately” the defendants were giving the family “a ‘free’ burial plot – one that in fact the Bess family had paid for in full and held the deed for.” She then told the family they owed the cemetery $380 for granite marker for William Bess’s Veteran’s military bronze memorial plaque.
Evidence of the purchase of that memorial plaque was found plus evidence of the family purchasing a double marker and granite. Adkins told the family the issues would be resolved within weeks. But the family says nothing has been resolved yet.
The family accuses the defendants of breach of contract, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, trespass, fraud and grave desecration. They seek compensatory and punitive damages as well as pre- and post-judgment interest, court costs and other relief.
Walters also write a letter to Attorney General Patrick Morrisey explaining the situation and requesting an immediate investigation into the defendants’ activities.
“It was explicitly stated to my clients on at least three occasions by StoneMor employees that there was no record of the individual buried in Mr. Barry Lee Bess’s burial plot and that the casket of the unknown individual had no identifying markings,” Walters’ letter to Morrisey states. “Additionally, no external headstone or other evidence existed on the surface of the burial plot to indicate an individual had been buried there.
“StoneMor corporate office has claimed to be in possession of records but has failed to tender any such evidence despite repeated requests. …
“Clearly there are issues with the management of this particular cemetery, as the family has also has yet to obtain main bought and paid for services from StoneMor, including a dual headstone to mark the graves of William J.D. and Nancy Lee Bess and a veteran’s marker for Mr. William J.D. Bess who proudly served and fought for our country in World War II.
“My clients and I would like the identity of the unknown person investigated to ensure there is no foul play, and the corporate practices of StoneMor investigated to determine whether StoneMor is currently engaged in double selling burial plots at its Kanawha Valley Memorial Gardens location.”
A spokesman for the AG’s office said it hasn’t received the letter yet.
“We have not yet received the correspondence from Mr. Walters and just learned of the matter with news of today’s (July 28) public filing,” Curtis Johnson told The West Virginia Record. “While the reported allegations sound deeply troubling, I can neither confirm nor deny any pending investigation, and therefore I cannot provide any further comment at this time.”
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 20-C-627
