Boston: Funeral Director Asks for Help From Government
A Worcester funeral home director is pleading for government officials to use their influence to convince a cemetery to bury Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but so far no state or federal authorities have stepped forward to help out.
“We have a body for burial that has caused a lot of controversy and we can’t continue to play this game,” said Peter Stefan, owner of the Graham, Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors. “Under normal circumstances, the government would say it’s (the funeral parlor’s) responsibility to find a place for burial, but this is not normal circumstances. This is a nightmare.”
Since Stefan accepted Tsarnaev’s body Friday, protesters have been outside the funeral home, under the wary eye of local police, demanding that the bomber’s body be shipped out of the United States. Meanwhile, Stefan told the Herald the family wants Tsarnaev buried in Boston but he can’t find a cemetery anywhere willing to take the body.
State Sen. Harriet L. Chandler (D-Worcester) said the federal government — not the state — should help find a solution to the burial problem.
