Grave Error: A 7 On Your Side Investigation

William and Billie Kesler received their certificate of ownership for six cemetery plots at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Laurens 30 years ago. They planned to be buried next to each other and have four other spaces for their children.

"We didn't know when we might need it so we said go ahead and get those lined up so we have it, just like life insurance you don't need it right then but you're going to use it," said Mrs. Kesler.

They haven't thought much more about the plots until this year. They claim they received a phone call from Forest Lawn Cemetery saying someone was in one of their spaces.

"I almost dropped the telephone, I was shocked," said Mrs. Kesler. "I said 'In my plot?' and he said, 'Yes, we don't know how it happened we just bought this new company out'."

A family member took home video of the headstone on the grave. It shows the name "John Perry Moore Senior". The headstone indicates Moore was a WWII vet in the Army who died in 1991.

"Your heart just falls to your feet when they tell you that that somebody else is there," said Mrs. Kesler. "I thought that's where me and (William) was gonna be and I don't want to be next to that man. If we put him there we will be separated."

The Keslers daughter asked 7 On Your Side for help and we started asking questions. Laurens County Assessor, Jerry Robertson, told us Forest Lawn Cemetery was acquired by StoneMor South Carolina LLC in 2008. Robertson said in 1991, when John Moore died, it was owned by Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens with a mailing address in Canada. We tracked that address to The Loewen Group, a funeral services company that filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

Robertson said Forest Lawn Cemetery was bought and sold four more times before StoneMor purchased it in 2008.

The Keslers say StoneMor blamed the problem on previous ownership.

StoneMor told News Channel 7's Dianne Derby it wouldn't discuss the case based on confidentiality but it did say it was addressing the situation.

"Only thing they offered me was six plots together or either opening closing of two graves," Mr. Kesler said.

It wasn't enough for Mr. Kesler, a WWII vet like Moore who he says is buried in his plot. Kesler wanted Moore moved.

When we asked Mrs. Kesler why she and her husband didn't agree to move the six plots she replied, "That's not what I want. We bought those because we wanted them and that's the ones we wanted."

Spartanburg attorney Ken Anthony says the Keslers have the right to have the man moved.

"They bought and paid for the right to be buried in that spot and that's what they're entitled to," Anthony said. "That's what a court would award."

Anthony said the family of the man buried there could take legal action against the cemetery.

"I know they go through some trauma thinking about the person who they thought had been laid to rest and now being disturbed going through that process all over again of burying a loved one," Anthony said.

The Keslers claim StoneMor told them the man would be moved but they had to contact the family first.

Meanwhile 7 On Your Side also tried to find the Moore family. We looked through Mr. Moore's probate records in Laurens County and made phone calls and visited the homes of the addresses we found. We also reached out in writing to a woman in Charleston we believe is Moore's sister based on his obituary. The letter we sent came back to us "returned to sender, vacant, unable to forward".

The Keslers said in March StoneMor told them they were able to get in touch with a relative. The Keslers told News Channel 7 Moore's casket was excavated and moved in April. The Keslers shared pictures to prove it.

For now they just hope no one else has to face the same strange circumstance.

"I just wonder how it happened because somebody wasn't keeping up with the job," Mr. Kesler said.

News Channel 7 suggested the Keslers file a complaint with the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation since the cemetery board handles complaints about perpetual care cemeteries. When we inquired about the status of the investigation we found out the Keslers are not alone. LLR spokesperson Jim Knight told us in February another unrelated family also sent in a complaint about Forest Lawn Cemetery alleging someone was buried in a plot they owned.

The LLR currently is looking into both complaints to determine if any disciplinary actions are warranted and as of today their investigations are still ongoing.

When you purchase a cemetery plot you need to consider the following, according to the Better Business Bureau.

• Tour the grounds and ask for a map of the available plots
• Add up the total cost of the plot including opening and closing fees and how payments are made
• Ask what happens if you change your mind. Find out if you are able to sell the plot
• Check on any restrictions the cemetery may have concerning grave markers.

To avoid becoming a victim of funeral of cemetery fraud click here.

To file a complaint with the SCLLR against a cemetery click here.