Grave Robbing is back!

Are you aware that grave robbing is back?

Oh yes, it’s no longer a thing of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Grave robbers are back in Toronto cemeteries, and investigators believe at least 51 graves have been targeted, with more victims coming forward.

A Toronto-area man was visiting his parents' graves and made a disturbing discovery.

The niche, a small compartment inside the mausoleum that held his parents’ cremated remains, had been robbed.

The urn containing their remains was intact, but cherished items, including a jade ring belonging to his mother and a blue sapphire ring and frog pendant belonging to his father, were gone.

The man was shocked and said it felt like a total violation of his parents.

Just as this man discovered the theft, Halton police held a news conference detailing a string of thefts at eight cemeteries across the Toronto, Halton and Niagara region.

Officers had arrested a 45-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman at a Niagara Falls motel. A search of the motel and a vehicle led to the recovery of thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry and stolen items.

The co-accused are currently facing 140 counts between them, including six counts of indignity to human remains, 20 counts of indecent interference of human remains and dozens of theft charges.

Halton police say 140 people have reached out to them to report missing items from cemetery niches. After the story broke, 10 additional victims were identified.

Some stolen items have been returned to the families, but in some cases, they haven't recovered some remains. Police say the thieves, in some instances, dumped the ashes out.

According to police, the crimes took place primarily during the day and in some instances, the co-accused posed as grieving family members.

It all reminds me of Shakespeare’s epitaph, which says: "Blest be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones."