Elmhurst cops: Thief took 400 vases from graveyards

A Hometown man faces charges he stole more than $100,000 worth of brass vases from graves at several area cemeteries, Elmhurst police said Wednesday.

Jeffrey T. Burke, 35, of the 8800 block of South Main Street, was charged with felony theft and being held in DuPage County jail on $60,000 bail.

Authorities said Burke came under police surveillance last week after a witness saw him swipe vases from a cemetery and called in his license plate number.

On Friday, officers tailed him to a cemetery in Will County and watched as he plucked more vases from graves, Elmhurst Chief Steven Neubauer said.

Neubauer said officers closed the cemetery gate to prevent Burke from leaving, but he drove his car through a fence, apparently unaware of the officers.

Police arrested him later that day at a scrap yard on Chicago's South Side, Neubauer said, after officers found about 50, 10-pound vases in his car.

Neubauer said officers subsequently recovered about 350 additional vases Burke already had sold to the yard.

In all, police said they believe Burke took more than 400 vases from two Elmhurst graveyards, the Will County cemetery and other locations.

Police put the collective retail value at more than $100,000 but noted the vases are often priceless to their owners.

“Our officers had talked to people at the cemeteries who spent a lot of money to put these things on grave markers to honor their loved ones,” Neubauer said. “And people, justifiably so, are just heartsick when they find these are missing and have to be replaced. It's just one of those issues that goes beyond the material that's taken.”

DuPage court records show Burke pleaded guilty to another theft in April 2007 and was sentenced to five years in prison. That case also involved stealing vases from cemeteries, Neubauer said.

Police asked anyone with information on Burke's latest case, or those who might be victims, to call Detective Ed Coughlin at (630) 530-3077.

“If we can, we want them (the stolen vases) reunited with the families,” Neubauer said.