The discovery Monday of what attorneys say appear to be a plot that was double-sold was the latest in a string of scandals at Glendale's oldest cemetery.
Its troubles began when state investigators in October 2005 found thousands of remains at the cemetery that were never buried or properly disposed of.
The state removed cemetery owner and operator Marsha Lee Howard — who died on Nov. 4 — and prohibited the cemetery from doing any new business.
A group of people with family members buried there and with pre-bought plots at the cemetery filed a civil lawsuit against Grand View and its owners in November 2005.
Their complaints for damages include negligence and breach of contract, among other things, according to court documents.
Then in June 2006 Moshe Goldsman, who stepped in as operator after Howard was removed, closed the cemetery due to a lack of funds.
Its closure outraged a community with many loved ones buried there.
John Lenn was to be the third person interred at Grand View since it closed on June 13.
Recently, the attorneys involved in the civil lawsuit have been able to inter people with pre-bought plots at Grand View with success and relative ease, Ayers said.
The remains of Geneva Hegemier were interred in a Grand View mausoleum on Feb. 2, the first interment service on the cemetery in nearly a year.
On March 20, the remains of Esther Lohr were buried in a shared plot with her husband Lee Frank Lohr, who was buried in Grand View in 2001.
But on Monday, as Ayers and funeral workers were locating the plot Lenn purchased, one of the workers noticed a flower receptacle on the grave meant for Lenn, Ayers said. Flower receptacles are not supposed to be on empty graves, he said.
When the group dug down to investigate, they discovered a sectional vault, Ayers said.
