Month: June 2025

The Hendricks County Grave Robberies Part 3

While no vandals or cult members were apprehended by law enforcement on Halloween night, Hendricks County officials did receive a report of cult activity at a cemetery in Avon.  Some adults allegedly witnessed a group of teens in black robes “holding sticks and dragging what appeared to be a body,” the Star reported.  

Hendricks County Sheriff’s Lt. Stephen Golden offered his thoughts on the alleged cult activity.  

“We are sure devil worship exists, but we don’t know if it is really going on (in the county) or if it’s teens playing a game or people out to steal things to sell.  If it’s teens, a lot could have to do with movies they’re watching like Prince of Darkness or Nightmare on Elm Street.  If it is teens, it’s a very small select group of teen–agers that are not representative of teens here in Hendricks County.” 

Although investigators believed more than one cult was operating in the area, they could not determine whether the groups were involved in devil worship.  Additionally, Golden clarified that in most instances the devil worship activity was not illegal.  

“When they trespass on people’s property, dig up graves and when they kill or maim animals, then it becomes our business.  That’s why we want to find out what’s going on and get to the bottom of it.”

Investigators reported discovering a ritual site in a densely wooded area near I-74 and State Road 267 north of Brownsburg.  A tree spray-painted with a “666” and the word “Satan” marked the site.  Attached to the tree were a pair of ropes with an ax handle hanging from one of the ropes.  Also present at the site were two small platforms and a candle in a jar.

At the previously mentioned bonfire site northeast of Pittsboro, where an 8-inch bone was found, investigators also discovered candle wax drippings on a table.  Tests performed on the bone showed it to be that of a large dog.

Then in the early morning hours of November 4, 1987, the night manager of a Brownsburg restaurant was driving home from work along a dark stretch of road outside Pittsboro.  Near the intersection of County Roads 750 North and 475 East, the man suddenly came upon a vehicle parked in the middle of the road.  Unable to stop, he was forced to drive off the road to avoid hitting the vehicle.  Angered at the driver in the stopped vehicle, the night manager grabbed an ax handle he kept in his car for protection.  (Apparently, ax handles were widely available and in heavy rotation back in 1987.)  As the night manager exited his vehicle, a man wearing a black leather jacket, a black hood and a black glove with spikes or claws appeared out of the darkness.  Additionally, two other men wearing ski masks emerged from another vehicle.  The night manager was pushed to the ground, kicked and struck by the group, and slashed across the face and abdomen by the man with the claw glove.  The men fled when the night manager lost consciousness. 

The night manager was not badly injured and the assailants were never identified.  Robbery was ruled out as a motive in the attack because the restaurant’s deposit the manager carried with him was not taken.  

As highly bizarre as the attack appeared, it was not an isolated incident.  Due to the popularity of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, assaults committed by individuals with clawed or studded gloves were not altogether uncommon back in 1987.  But with fears already running high over reports of satanism and satanic crimes in the press, the attack only caused the paranoia to grow.        

Sources:

The Indianapolis Star

The Indianapolis News

The Hendricks County Grave Robberies Part 2

As Halloween 1987 approached, reports of grave robberies in Hendricks County continued to pour in.  On October 27, the remains of four people were discovered missing at the Weaver-Dillon Cemetery, bringing the total number of grave robberies to ten.  A resident who lives nearby discovered the open graves while walking in the wooded area northeast of Pittsboro, Indiana.  Lt. Stephen G. Golden expressed doubts about a Halloween prank, as the work involved in opening the graves required a great deal of digging and the location was very secluded.

The largest hole was marked by a headstone inscribed with the names Joeann F. Dillon, Judith M. Dillon, James W. Dillon, Abia Dillon and Flemingo Dillon whose deaths occurred between 1852 and 1919.  Golden commented that the freshness of the dirt indicated the hole had been dug sometime within the previous two months.  Another hole lay at the base of a headstone with the inscription “Emma V., wife of S. A. Surber.”  Nearby another large hole with no headstone marking the grave had been dug and filled back in.  

With no apparent motive and little to go on other than the profile of an extremely fit and prolific hole digger, the theory that the crimes were motivated by satan worship moved to the forefront.  An 8-inch-long bone resembling a femur discovered at the most recent site, bolstered the satanic angle.

“What’s significant is that it was found near a bonfire site.  In rituals, they usually have a bonfire near the cemetery,” Lt. Golden told reporters.  

For Sheriff’s Lt. Michael J Nelson, who had been working on the grave robberies since they first began appearing, the satanic cult angle had always been at the top of his list.  Investigators believed that almost anything found in the hundred-year-old graves would be of value to a group of satan worshippers.  Items discovered in these ancient graves would bond members to the group, investigators thought.

Needless to say, residents of this part of Hendricks County were becoming very nervous indeed.  Grave robberies and allegations of devil worship would send a chill down anybody’s spine in 1987.  But Lt. Golden assured the public it was too soon to start worrying.

“Sure, it’s unusual, but people shouldn’t be scared.  Hopefully, we’ll find out who’s doing it and they’ll be arrested,” Golden said.   

However, the grave robberies continued.  On Halloween 1987, an Indianapolis Star headline announced “5 more graves disturbed in Hendricks County.”  According to the article, attempts had been made to steal the remains of five more people, but it could not be determined whether the thieves were successful in their endeavor.

Meanwhile, additional reports of graveyard malfeasance flooded into the Hendricks County Sheriff’s office.  In Avon, a woman reported that a private cemetery on her property had been targeted.  A four foot deep hole had been dug at the site of one grave, but no remains removed.  Two other cemeteries in the Pittsboro area showed attempts to open graves that were abandoned after two feet of digging.  In one instance, it appeared the robbery had been attempted several months earlier, as the hole showed signs it had been dug earlier in the spring.

“What is getting strange now is, for some reason, they’re digging part of the way into these graves and then quitting,” Lt. Golden told reporters.

Could there have been a copycat on the loose who didn’t have the stomach to finish the job, or could the older abandoned attempts show a grave robber who was just getting started but lacked the confidence to see the gruesome task through?

Whatever the case, Lt. Golden called up a number of local reservists to patrol the area on Halloween night in hopes of catching a grave digging ghoul in the act.  After all, what twisted creature of the night or sick satanic cult could resist communing with the dead on Halloween night?

At the time and given the circumstances, Golden’s plan was necessary and had to be undertaken.  But imagine being a local citizen called up to stake out a remote, ancient cemetery on Halloween night.  In retrospect, it sounds like a movie premise with loads of comedic potential, something like Abbott and Costello Meet the Body Snatcher.

At any rate, with the level of weirdness in Hendricks County cranked up to 11, it seemed impossible that events could get any weirder, but as Hunter S. Thompson used to say, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”

Sources:

The Indianapolis Star

The Indianapolis News

Artificial Impersonators

Used to be you’d turn on the old boob tube and watch some comedian like Rich Little, Dana Carvey or Darrell Hammond do impressions of famous figures that were so spot on they sounded like the real thing.  Only they obviously weren’t because the voice was clearly coming out of a different person and the content was entirely farcical.  

Recently, I was consuming content on the internet’s most prominent boob tube channel when I realized I was being taken for a ride by one of its artificial impersonators.  I’ve been watching Bishop Robert Barron’s channel since way back when he was only Father Barron and his content featured movie reviews in which he’d insert some relevant christian theology.  The other day I’m listening to one of his messages on a channel I’d never heard of before when I became curious about the YouTube account and the channel’s background.  The thumbnail featured Bishop Barron’s image and the audio sounded like a message or sermon he’d possibly recorded privately or perhaps spoken publicly at some time or another.  Here’s a direct quote from the video’s description:

“In this 21-minute morning message, Bishop Robert Barron reflects on the power of morning prayer, gratitude, and surrender to God’s plan.

“Through Scripture, prayer, and reflection, Bishop Barron reminds us that when we start our day with thankfulness and intention, we align our hearts with divine peace and purpose.”

I immediately wondered if this channel represented some new offering from Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire Ministries, so I read on.  After scrolling through chapter titles, hashtags and descriptions of what I would learn from “Bishop Robert Barron’s Catholic insights,” I finally arrived at this disclaimer:

“This message includes public theological reflections and prayers inspired by Bishop Robert Barron.”

Because I’m not super bright, and I’m old and not very clever when it comes to the ways of technology, the internet and social media, I still did not get the hint.  

The message included “public theological reflections and prayers.”  So, Bishop Barron spoke these words publicly and someone recorded it and here it is, right?

If, at that moment, someone would have smacked me upside the head and said, “Do I need to spell it out for you?” I would have deserved it.  Instead, there is this:

“Altered or synthetic content:  Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.”

As much as I wanted to believe that I hadn’t been duped by an artificial impersonator, it became abundantly clear that I had.  Apparently, many others had been as well, because there were lots of comments thanking Bishop Barron for the message.

The channel is called “The Divine Motivation,” it’s on YouTube and it’s fake.  It is not Bishop Barron, and it doesn’t matter if it has some ambiguous disclaimer buried deep within the show notes, it is deliberately deceptive.  Some additional searching immediately revealed two other artificial impersonator channels:  “Bishop Barron’s Motivations” and “The Faith Journey.”  

I know I sound like an old man yelling at technology.  I can imagine someone countering, “Where have you been, old timer?  This is the world we live in.”  Fair enough.  But this old man can’t abide while dull-witted content creators harness technology to impersonate authentic, exceptional, thoughtful and inspiring human beings.  

Using someone else’s name, likeness and voice to create artificial messages without being upfront about it is massively deceptive.  And you can never motivate, inspire, reveal truth or instill hope through fakery and deceit.

The Hendricks County Grave Robberies Part 1

On Monday, September 28, 1987, Hendricks County Sheriff’s deputies followed up on a report of a recently reopened grave in a remote cemetery plot north of Plainfield, Indiana.  A hiker discovered the disturbed area near a tributary of White Lick Creek while exploring the surrounding farm fields and wooded areas.  A six foot deep hole had been dug at one grave site and the remains removed, while several inches of topsoil had been cleared from two other plots.  

The site was an old family cemetery belonging to the Carters, an early pioneer family who in 1823 settled 240 acres in that part of Guilford Township.  One grave belonged to Ruth Hadley Carter, who died at the age of 68 on April 24, 1869.  Another grave belonged to a two-month-old infant, and the third grave was unmarked.

Regarding what would motivate an individual to remove centuries old remains from a remote and obscure settler grave, there weren’t many good theories.  Hendricks County Sheriff Lt. Stephen G. Golden speculated that the robbers could have been looking for antique jewelry, or the disturbance was possibly just a sick prank.   

Christopher S. Peebles, director of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University, was also uncertain of what the vandals would have found in the grave other than skeletal remains.  “I don’t know what would have been left in this case, but it all comes down to thievery, pure and simple.  It’s pretty sick for someone to dig up graves for no apparent purpose.  I suspect it’s someone with a screw loose,” Peebles said.

There was one thing investigators did know for sure, the present scene of a recently looted grave in Central Indiana was not an isolated incident.  Only a month earlier, residents of nearby Brownsburg and Greenfield, Indiana, went to clean up an ancient family cemetery near Brownsburg and discovered one of the graves dug up and the remains missing.  Walker Cemetery, as it is known, sits along 56th street near Brownsburg about a mile west of the Marion County line.  The missing remains belonged to Ann Walker, a member of one of Brownsburg’s founding families.

Whether it was someone with a screw loose, a thief in search of valuables, or some twisted, rogue member of the local historical society was anybody’s guess.  However, in 1987 there was one theory that explained a lot of grisly and macabre behavior: devil worship.  In the climate of the time, it was difficult to understand a series of grave robberies as having any explanation other than dirty deeds done in service of the dark arts.  And as the discoveries of disturbed graves and missing remains continued, and tales of strange hooded figures deepened the mystery, the spectre of Satanism spread like a fever until all became infected with its delirium.

Sources:

The Indianapolis Star

The Indianapolis News