The family of a New Brunswick murder victim says they are devastated after finding the grave of their lost loved one vandalized last week.
Lenore Polchies, mother of Lucas Solomon-Polchies who was killed just over a year ago, says when she arrived to the graveyard on Wednesday evening where her son is buried she found everything had been burned.
“I come here almost every night to say goodnight,” she told Global on Sunday. “It was all burned. And I just dropped to the ground.”
Lucas was found along a highway just after 4 a.m. on March 12, 2023, in Lincoln, N.B., with a gunshot wound. He died in hospital.
The New Brunswick RCMP Major Crimes Unit determined Polchies’ death was a homicide. Two people, Joshua Raines, 47, and Samantha Butler, 21, were charged the following month with second-degree murder in connection with his death.
“It’s bad enough that he got murdered. We’re still waiting to go to court for that,” Polchies said. “And to come to find him burned? Not physically, but still. It’s a mother’s nightmare to just see that.”
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Lucas is buried on the grounds of St. Ann’s Catholic Church on the Kingsclear First Nation reserve.
A blurry picture provided to Global from Lucas’ sister, Kayla Solomon, taken of the burned grave shows the land in front of the plot completely burned and turned black. Solomon said it smelled like propane.
The family says they have informed the lead investigator on the case. A spokesperson for the RCMP said Sunday police were unavailable to comment on the incident.
The St. Ann’s Catholic Church Priest, Bill Brennan, said he found out about the incident on Friday and is deeply concerned for the family and their already difficult grief, now made worse. “To have something so disrespectful happen is very traumatic for them,” Brennan said.
“He’s six feet underground. To burn him, why? Why would they want to do that to hurt him?” the victim’s mother asked.
Polchies says her family has since cleaned up the burned soil and ash, but they remain vigilant and angry.
“I’m having a hard time. It’s a devastating week, I’m going from sad to angry. I’m having nightmares, I’m scared of my own home. I would like to find out who did this. Some sick person, just to hurt the family,” Polchies told Global through tears.
The family says they are working on getting nearby camera footage to further look into the details around the incident.
— with files from Anna Mandin, Global News
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