PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — There have been a number of complaints about vandalism at the Olive Branch Cemetery in Portsmouth that involved felony destruction of property, including one headstone that was cut in half.

The concrete headstone weighs hundreds of pounds and costs thousands of dollars, so the fact the headstone was cut in half is a big deal, and a costly one.

Christie Hull has photos of her family’s grave markers toppled over.

“We found my grandfather’s tombstone and my great-uncle George’s tombstone, both on the ground,” Hull said. “Thank goodness they were not broken.” 

The Hill’s concrete gravestone nearby was not so lucky. 

To read the Hill’s gravestone, two people had to lift the half of the gravestone you could lift to read the name Paul Clinton Hill, Born 1916- Died 2003. The cemetery had no contact information and there was no obituary we could find. 

As for Hull’s family site, they went to the cemetery, and gently put back the family markers. 

Hull was sick to her stomach by the disgrace of her family’s grave.

“I was very unhappy with this situation,” Hull said. “You do not disturb people in their final resting place, and this was not the first time something like this happened in this cemetery.”

The two grave markers that were knocked over — Calvin “Gus” Bryan, who was Hull’s grandfather, and George Bryan. They were brothers and both war veterans.

“I want everybody else to know there is vandalism going on in the cemetery, and they needed to go check on their loved ones,” Hull said, “to make sure everything was OK.”

Talking about her grandfather, she noted that “he walked around the neighborhood with dog biscuits and fed all the neighborhood dogs.” 

Buried next to him is Hull’s grandmother “Momo.”

“She rode a jet ski until she was 75-years-old and rode one better than any 16 year old you would see,” Hull said. “This woman would do tricks.” 

Who did this?   

Hull said a cemetery worker saw a kid on a souped-up golf cart, and after toppling the grave markers, the cemetery worker followed it.

“He found where the golf cart went, and he saw the golf cart was dented,” Hull said, “and when he came back, he called police.” 

There is a police report on file for felony destruction of property. The Hill’s destroyed grave marker will cost thousands to replace.  

Portsmouth police are investigating. There are some leads, and if anyone knows anything about what happened out there, they are asked to call the Portsmouth Police or the Crime Line at 1-800-LOCK-U-UP.