Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s burial in Virginia is legal, according to the county sheriff.
Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was buried at a Doswell cemetery last Thursday, angering some in the community after it was claimed that authorities were not consulted about the Muslim burial.
Neighbors of the cemetery have argued that a police presence will be needed at the cemetery while Caroline County officials investigated whether the burial had been done properly and legally.
Caroline County Sheriff Tony Lippa said in a statement that the official paperwork including the death certificate and burial permit were in order.
Tony Lippa said: “It would appear that all paperwork is in order at this point.
“Like the rest of America, the citizens of this county were outraged by the Boston Marathon Bombings. We too mourned for the loss of life, prayed for the survivors, and offered our support.
“Unfortunately we now find ourselves forever connected to this tragedy in the most unsavory way – as the final resting place of one of the alleged terrorist.”
The sheriff’s office will provide the same amount of protection to Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s burial site as any other cemetery in Caroline County.
The statement said: “The Caroline County Sheriff’s Office cannot, nor will we, divert our limited resources towards the protection of a single gravesite, especially one belonging to that of a terrorist.”
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was buried at a Doswell cemetery, angering some in the community after it was claimed that authorities were not consulted about the Muslim burial
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s remains were rejected by cemeteries in many cities for fear of desecration and demonstrations.
Sheriff Tony Lippa said last week that he learned of the burial from the media and added that the county does not have the money to provide security and that it will be the cemetery’s responsibility.
The cemetery director told MyFoxBoston that he is not concerned about adding security and added that Doswell is a close community.
He also shared details of Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s burial, saying he was buried in a small ceremony Thursday morning after being draped in three white sheets and laid on his right side to face Mecca.
The cemetery director declined to say who was in attendance.
The decision to bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev in the small Islamic cemetery in rural Virginia has also sparked fury some members of the area’s Islamic community, who say they weren’t consulted, according to the Associated Press.
Imam Ammar Amonette, of the Islamic Center of Virginia, said that his group was never consulted.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was buried under a shroud of secrecy Wednesday evening at the Al-Barzakh Cemetery in central Virginia, about 15 miles from Richmond.
Martha Mullen, a professional counselor who has a degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, said she coordinated the clandestine burial with the help of the Islamic Society of Greater Richmond after a number of cemeteries refused to take his body.
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Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been buried in a secret midnight service at an undisclosed location after a mystery benefactor came forward – ending weeks of controversy.
According to federal officials, Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s body was taken from the Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlor and entombed under cover of darkness outside of the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, where his remains have laid since last Friday.
The burial location was approved by Ruslan Tsarni, the Boston Marathon suspects’ outspoken uncle, who has been attempting to find a cemetery that would accept his nephew for burial.
“As a result of our public appeal for help a courageous and compassionate individual came forward to provide the assistance needed to properly bury the deceased,” said Worcester police in a statement this morning.
“His body is no longer in the city of Worcester and is now entombed.”
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s body was finally buried one day after Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme pleaded for help in burying the suspect – who was killed in a firefight with police on April 19th in Watertown, just outside of Boston.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been buried in a secret midnight service at an undisclosed location after a mystery benefactor came forward
“There is a need to do the right thing,” said Gary Gemme.
“We are not barbarians. We bury the dead.”
The statement did not say where his body now rests.
Peter Stefan, the director of the funeral home had previously expressed his strong desire to find a proper burial site for Tamerlan Tsarnaev despite protests outside the funeral home and the refusal of Cambridge to take his body for burial.
Before today’s announcement, a retired Vermont school teacher, Paul Keane had yesterday offered up his family’s plot in Hamden, Connecticut.
He intended the offer to be a tribute to his mother, who taught him to, “love thine enemy”.
Paul Keane told reporters that he didn’t withdraw the offer, even after he received hate-mail – but no one from Worcester contacted him.
And the firm responsible for digging graves at the Mount Carmel Cemetery said that they have dug no fresh graves this week.
And on Monday, the founder of the organization that built Colorado’s largest mosque is offered to bury suspected Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a Denver-area Muslim cemetery.
Sheikh Abu-Omar Almubarac said he would pay for a traditional Muslim burial – no headstone, monument or casket – at a plot at a Muslim cemetery in Denver or Bennett.
He refused to say which one out of concern for “undue publicity”. He said he would bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev as long as his family can get the body to Denver.
It is not known whether the family of Tamerlan Tsarnaev took him up on that offer.
Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst with the Worcester police force said the body was no longer in Worcester and is now entombed. She did not disclose where the body was taken.
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