Cemetery theft case ends with probation

A western Wayne County resident found guilty of stealing thousands of dollars intended to care for a Pershing cemetery has reached a plea agreement.

Calling the theft “absolutely horrendous,” Wayne Superior Court 2 Judge Greg Horn sentenced Trisha C. Taylor of Cambridge City to a year of probation while she repays $7,400 to Lutheran Cemetery Foundation of Pershing. Her probation could be extended if the amount is not repaid by that time.

Nearly a dozen people attended the March 2 sentencing, most of whom are current board members or have plot ownership connections.

Horn found Taylor guilty on a Level 6 theft charge, which was a lesser charge than the initial Level 5 felony theft charge that the Wayne County prosecutor’s office filed in March 2023. At that time, Taylor was accused of stealing more than $50,000.

Horn said he found the crime “disgusting” but that the plea agreement was fair because Taylor did not have a criminal record, and because cemetery board members should have raised concerns earlier than they did.

While much of Taylor’s $1,500 cash bond will be used for court costs, probation fees and the public defender’s fund, Horn said the balance would go to the cemetery association as restitution.

Horn said the cemetery board could also receive another $6,000 in restitution if a plea is reached with Taylor’s husband, Dustin L. Taylor, who faces Level 5 and Level 6 felony theft charges in the case investigated by Indiana State Police. He was board secretary and treasurer from 2015 to 2022. His trial is scheduled for May 11.

The cemetery board could pursue additional repayment through a civil case.

Taylor’s attorney, Steve Rabe, told WWN after the sentencing that the plea made sense based on what he expected could happen in a trial. “It was my opinion, based on review of the evidence and discovery provided, that the state would likely prove its case as a Level 6 felony, but given various evidentiary issues, would not be able to prove its case with respect to the Level 5 felony as charged.”

Donna Wright, who has five generations of her family buried in the cemetery, represented the new cemetery foundation’s board as its secretary and treasurer at the hearing. She read a victim’s statement saying the board felt a lesser felony sentencing was wrong given the amount of money taken and a lack of cooperation obtaining important records.

According to a probable cause affidavit, ISP said the Taylors wrote checks worth more than $150,000 to themselves. Wright said that during Trisha Taylor’s eight-year board presidency, the cemetery went from having $282,265.71 in the bank to only $53.80, along with a $8,015 mowing debt, when the cemetery’s annual operating expenses were typically less than $20,000 per year.  

The new board has struggled to find missing plot books and maps that help ensure burials are in the correct location and plots aren’t sold twice. They’ve had to work to recover the organization’s tax exempt status and regain good standing with the state of Indiana after tax returns were not filed for three years. 

“We also had to try and rebuild the trust of the members of the association in the new board,” Wright said. “Trust once betrayed is hard to regain.”