David L. Bingham, Jr. (Junior) is getting his 15 minutes of fame.
The Associated Press ran Junior’s story about the wrong David L. Bingham, Sr. having been buried next to his mother. The cemetery has offered Junior some options for correcting the misburial, but he has rejected them all. A demand for compensation is in the winds.
A more detailed story about the situation was reported by the The Enquirer, and it would seem that Junior may be exploiting the situation.
Misburials are rare, but they happen. In this situation, the stated facts suggest that someone contacted the cemetery for a burial of a David L. Bingham, Sr. and a records check indicated David L. Bingham Sr. already owned a lot. How many David L. Bingham Sr.s can there be? The cemetery staff would have made some type of inquiry, and the individual arranging the burial must have made an assumption, and the late Mr. Bingham became acquainted with the late Mrs. Bingham, so to speak.
Junior knows there was a mistake because Dad is buried in Kentucky. Sounds like Junior’s parents were divorced. Which raises the question: Was the space in dispute purchased for Junior or for Dad?
The cemetery may be asking the same question, but it sounds as though a change in management and ownership has occurred since the Binghams purchased their lots. The new owners may not be able to confirm this fact.
Generally, cemeteries retain the authority to correct misburials through their rules and regulations . State laws typically recognize this authority in statutes. Ohio law regarding disinterments provides an exception to allow burial corrections. But Junior will have no part of this, claiming that "I don’t want to be buried in a used grave!" Junior is even suffering from anxiety attacks. Sounds like Junior is being coached by an attorney. (Don’t you just love lawyers.)