Mysterious cremated remains from 1996 found left behind in Taylor cemetery

Christopher Land was walking with his wife and their son through the nearby Oak Grove Burying Ground, an old cemetery in Taylor that they started strolling through during the pandemic to get out of the house, when he spied something unusual — even for a graveyard.

On a mound of dirt, a black box seemed like it had been left behind.

As Land got closer, he said he could see it was labeled: "This temporary receptacle contains the cremains of," and in neat handwritten, cursive script was a name followed by the word "cremated," and then the date, also handwritten, "May 30, 1996."

"I went, 'No way,' and I reached out to pick it up, thinking, surely this is an empty box or something," Land, 41, recalled to the Free Press on Wednesday as he retraced his steps through the cemetery. "I lifted it, and it was heavy. I called my wife over and she said, 'Oh my God, what is that?' "

Land stumbled across a mystery that Taylor police detectives are now trying to solve.

His find raises an even broader question for funeral homes and lawmakers: As attitudes about religion and death change, and more and more Michiganders opt for cremation over burial, do we need more laws and regulations to protect people's ashes?

More: Legal or not: What can you do with cremated remains?

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Land said he carefully put the box back where he found it because he wasn't sure what the right thing was to do. They were in a cemetery. But, he added, leaving what was once a person exposed to the elements and where anyone could snatch them didn't seem quite right.

He contacted the city and then the police, who now have the box and are investigating the mystery: Why was the box there and who put it there? And, if the label on it is accurate, what should be done with all that is left of Michael J. O’Brien?

Who, whodunit and why?

Taylor's Deputy Police Chief Michael Lividini said detectives are trying to locate O'Brien's next of kin.

So far, Lividini said, detectives have few leads: There is the name of the crematorium, Tri-county Cremation Service, which is on the label. And the deputy chief said they know — by searching various databases — that O'Brien was born in Detroit and 76 when he died, but that was nearly three decades ago.

For now, police speculate that someone either had been holding onto the ashes, or found them tucked away in storage and no longer wanted to hold onto them, but didn't want to throw them away or go through the expense of a funeral home interment, so they brought them to the cemetery and left them.

In recent years, there have been funeral home scandals connected to improper storage of remains.

A wide-ranging investigation that made national headlines in 2018 shut down two Detroit funeral homes, led to multimillion-dollar lawsuits, and uncovered nearly 300 bodies of metro Detroiters that had been cremated but never put to rest. Instead, they were abandoned in the dim basement of the Cantrell Funeral Home.

The news rocked Michigan's funeral home industry but also spurred the generosity of people in the mortuary businesses, such as Brian Joseph, the owner of Verheyden Funeral Home in Grosse Pointe Park, who offered to help put the remains to rest, in an effort to restore some dignity to them.

In 2021, Michigan's Office of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and the state attorney general issued a cease and desist order against Tri-County Cremation Services and its owners after receiving an anonymous complaint alleging multiple violations, including improper storage of bodies.

More cremations, questions

In addition to changing attitudes about death, more people are choosing to be cremated because the cost of burials is going up, younger generations are more concerned about the effects of traditional burials on the environment, and populations are becoming more mobile.

According to the National Funeral Directors Association, in 1960, less than 4% of Americans chose cremation. In 2025, that number is estimated to increase to 63%, in 2030, almost 70%, and by 2040, almost 80%.

As more people choose to be cremated, what to do with unclaimed remains and remains once they are turned over to loved ones is likely to become a bigger challenge, said Phil Douma, the executive director of the Michigan Funeral Directors Association, the nation’s oldest organization of funeral professionals.

"Funeral homes are always concerned about the respect and dignity of human remains," Douma said. "Any further discussion of legislation or regulation to protect that respect is something that funeral homes and funeral directors would be interested in."

A 'lived-in' cemetery

Land, who works in the nearby John F. Kennedy Jr. Library, said that he also is concerned about the upkeep of the Oak Grove Burying Ground, which a plaque identifies it as a registered historic site and "Taylor's largest municipal cemetery."

And, Paul Dent, who has lived near the cemetery since the mid-70s, said it has likely been vandalized by irreverent teenagers, who he's seen traipsing through the cemetery, and may be to blame for some of the damage to the larger markers.

The first burial in the cemetery took place in 1838, the marker noting its historical significance said, adding it expanded from just a one-acre parcel donated by Garrett and Lydia Putnam in 1861. It includes 60 graves from the 19th century, including "pioneer families" and headstones with inscriptions in German, the native language of many of Taylor's early residents.

Land said he and his family go on walks there because it is close to their home and offers an outdoor setting with interesting things to see and appreciate. And, he added, even though it is a resting place for the dead, it still has a "lived-in feel" about it, meaning it has been around for a while.

The cemetery, which is partially fenced in with an open gate, gets its share of visitors who leave fresh flowers, holiday wreaths, and American flags. But it also has seen better days: Older headstones and markers are cracked, toppled, and, in some cases, partially buried by years of neglect.

Lividini said detectives will keep investigating and searching for relatives, but O'Brien is a relatively common name, he died almost 30 years ago, and it might take a while to find someone. There's also the possibility, Lividini said, police might never solve the mystery — and the remains go unclaimed.

But, if that happens, the deputy chief said, the city will find them a dignified final resting place.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

If you have information

Taylor police are asking anyone who might have clues to the mystery to call 734-287-6611.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Police investigate who left cremated remains in a Taylor cemetery