Leaking crypt raises concern at Cullman Memory Gardens

May 22--CULLMAN -- The Cullman County Health Department has received a complaint of a peculiar liquid leaking from a crypt at the main mausoleum of Cullman Memory Gardens cemetery.

The department's environmental supervisor Patricia Lindsey confirmed that a complaint has been filed, and she has since visited the Bolte Road cemetery to determine if the leak was sewage related.

At the time of her visit, Lindsey said much of the strange liquid, which had an "awful smell" and seemed to originate from inside or under the crypt, had already dried on the concrete outside the mausoleum. But, there was still some staining on the concrete and the leak had attracted several flies.

Lindsey said she believes the liquid is not sewage related, and did not rule out that it could have something to do with the bodies interned at the crypt.

According to Lindsey, the health department has no jurisdiction over issues of this matter, and is currently researching to determine which agency -- if any -- may have regulative authority to further investigate the issue.

"It's something we are aware of and we are looking into it," Lindsey said.

Control and management of Cullman Memory Gardens has been in flux for much of the past decade, as the cemetery has shifted between at least three different operators in that time. Local residents have complained the past few years about a lack of consistent up-keep at the cemetery.

Jim Enneper, a long-time cemetery-owner from Wisconsin, gained control of Memory Gardens and another Alabama cemetery after reportedly receiving a money judgment and filing a writ of execution against owner DeArbor, LLC., after the company bought his Wisconsin cemetery and failed to fully pay for it.

DeArbor, LLC. had bought Memory Gardens in 2009 out of receivership from the State of Alabama, after it was taken over following alleged mismanagement from previous owner Mike Graham and Associates. Graham was investigated by regulators in several states, but died before any local charges were filed.

In 2013, DeArbor began facing issues of its own when the company's certificate of authority to sell pre-need services related to burial and internment was suspended by the Alabama Department of Insurance, and is still pending. Shortly thereafter the company went dark, the corporate phone number was disconnected and the local office was no longer manned on a regular basis.

Enneper reportedly remains in control of the cemetery at this point, though he has previously stated he will likely attempt to sell the cemetery eventually. In a meeting with family members of those interned at the cemetery earlier this year, Enneper pledged "we're on it to keep it up" in regards to the grounds and facilities.

A call to the Cullman Memory Gardens office found the number to be temporarily disconnected.

--Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at [email protected], or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 134.

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