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U.S. NEWS Monday 14 august 2017

Officials: Exhumation of killers

from vet cemeteries is rare

By DAVE COLLINS Cemetery. victed of murder or rape.
Associated Press The law prohibits people Relatives of Aillon did not
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — sentenced to life in prison return messages seeking
The recent exhumation of or death on convictions comment. They previously
an Army Vietnam veteran’s for federal or state capital have said they were un-
body from the Connecti- crimes and certain sexual aware of the burial restric-
cut State Veterans Cem- offenses from being buried tions and were upset with
etery was a rare invoca- in national veterans cem- the exhumation plans.
tion of federal laws aimed eteries and other veterans At the Michigan cemetery, In this Aug. 30, 1972 file photo, Guillermo Aillon, center, emerg-
at keeping murderers and burial grounds — such as Anderson was buried with es from the Superior Court House where he was denied bail on
rapists out of veterans buri- the Connecticut ceme- full military honors, despite charges he murdered his estranged wife and her parents in New
al grounds, federal and tery — that receive federal Koehl’s killing.q Haven, Conn.
state officials say. funding. Associated Press
The remains of Guillermo But exhumation authority
Aillon were disinterred from didn’t exist until the 2013
the Middletown cemetery law, which also was made
July 3, after state veter- to apply to people who
ans’ affairs officials learned committed murders and
that he had been serving rapes but were not avail-
a life prison sentence for able for trial and not con-
stabbing to death his es- victed. The law applies only
tranged wife and both her to veterans buried after
parents in North Haven in it took effect on Dec. 23,
1972. It’s not clear where 2013, with the exception for
the remains were taken. Anderson.
Only one other person The remains of another vet-
appears to have been eran convicted of murder,
exhumed from a U.S. vet- Russell Wayne Wagner,
erans’ cemetery under a were removed from Ar-
2013 federal law that gave lington National Cemetery
the federal Department of under an order approved
Veterans Affairs the author- by Congress in 2006 as part
ity to dig up the remains of of a veterans’ bill. Wagner
murderers and rapists, ac- killed an elderly couple in
cording to the VA. Hagerstown, Maryland, in
In 2014, the body of Army 1994.
veteran Michael LeShawn Connecticut officials did
Anderson was removed not know about Aillon’s
from the Fort Custer Na- convictions because he
tional Cemetery in Augus- was transferred from prison
ta, Michigan. Authorities to a hospital before he died
said Anderson killed Alicia in 2014 and his death certif-
Koehl, wounded three oth- icate listed the location as
er people and killed him- the hospital, said Thomas
self in a 2012 shooting in Saadi, spokesman for the
Indianapolis. The 2013 law, Veterans Affairs Commis-
named after Koehl, specifi- sioner Sean Connolly.
cally authorized the exhu- “It’s a very rare occur-
mation of Anderson. rence,” Saadi said of ex-
Burying convicted murder- humation. “The Aillon situa-
ers and rapists at veterans’ tion was very unique.”
cemeteries was banned by Saadi said the state has
a 1997 federal law, which since required funeral di-
was aimed at preventing rectors to attest that vet-
Oklahoma City bomber erans whose families have
and Army veteran Timothy applied for them to be bur-
McVeigh from being in- ied in the state veterans’
terred at Arlington National cemetery were not con-