Family’s Heartbreaking Cemetery Mix-Up

A devastating mix-up in a Los Angeles cemetery has left a family distraught. They discovered that they had been visiting the wrong grave where their loved one was supposed to be buried, all due to misplaced gravestones.

Hasmic DeMille, who emigrated from the Soviet Union in the 1980s, passed away in 2021 from a heart attack. Since then, her family has spent nearly four years grieving at an empty plot, all the while decorating it for Christmas and celebrating birthdays, believing it was her resting place.

Marine, one of Hasmic’s daughters, has been particularly affected. She expressed feelings of guilt and confusion about visiting the incorrect gravestone. “I thought we were giving her a place of peace, but finding out we were at the wrong spot felt like losing her all over again,” she shared with NBC Los Angeles.

Following her mother’s death, Marine had frequently brought flowers and sat with her, feeling connected. However, in April, she learned that her mother had been, in fact, buried in an unmarked grave, while the gravestone sat over an empty plot nearby.

Chris, Hasmic’s son, shared that a shocking revelation came to light during their father’s funeral. A family member revealed that their mother’s gravestone was on a plot that didn’t contain her remains, leaving Chris feeling betrayed and bewildered. “We thought we were honoring her, but it turns out we were talking to the sky,” he reflected.

The family is now pursuing legal action against the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Association. They seek accountability for what they consider a breach of trust, negligence, and emotional distress. Despite the cemetery’s efforts to correct the error by relocating the gravestone, the emotional toll remains heavy for the family.

“An apology doesn’t erase the heartache we’ve experienced,” said George Eskichan, Hasmic’s grandson. “We can’t get back those four years, and it’s just added pain to our grief.”