Officials: Man's Ohio grave held another's remains

DAYTON, Ohio - The discovery of the cremated remains of 56 people at a home has led to another mystery because the grave for one of those people contained someone else's remains.

Officials say they might not be able to determine whose cremated remains were improperly buried in Leroy Metcalfe's grave at the Dayton National Cemetery more than a decade ago, the Dayton Daily News ( http://bit.ly/QpLIDq ) reported Wednesday.

Officials examined the recently disinterred remains this week. Cemetery officials reported the remains didn't include any identifying marker, such as the discs with tracking numbers that are put in urns and linked to information on cremation certificates, coroner's office executive director Ken Betz said.

He said his office can't legally do anything with the case, which leaves the mystery to the cemetery, located on the property of the Dayton VA Medical Center.

Cemetery director Bernie Blizzard called the situation "completely out of the norm."

"We're not rushing anything. We want to make sure we're doing everything the right way," Blizzard said. "My focus is on the veterans, their families, the identification of the veteran and doing right by them and their families."

The Montgomery County coroner's office told Metcalfe's daughter last month that his remains were among those found at a home that was under foreclosure and was co-owned by a former funeral home director. That case has been forwarded to prosecutors for consideration.

Metcalfe's daughter, Dellaina Grundy, said the situation was "just absolutely unbelievable."

"We paid for a service, and it wasn't performed," she told the newspaper.

She said she plans to have Metcalfe's remains interred elsewhere in the cemetery, with a new headstone.

"I know my father's soul is in heaven, but the fact that the physical part of him was just thrown away and disregarded is heartbreaking and so unreal," she said.