Dig Deeper!

Here's the opening paragraph of a story I read in the USA Today newspaper Friday:

BAGHDAD -  "The body of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found in a shallow grave in northern Iraq on Thursday, two weeks after he was kidnapped by gunman in one of the most dramatic attacks against the country's small Christian community..."

Looks like business  as usual to me.  Nope, not talking about the continuing violence in Iraq or the misery it means for its people. I'm talking about yet the latest example of the bad guys being potentially foiled by trying to get away with burying the victim in a shallow grave.

Seriously, what is that deal? Why go to all the effort to kidnap and then kill a dude only to wimp out on the follow through. I know six feet is a lot of dirt to shovel but  if you leave the archbishop in three inches of soil then you're not fooling anyone.

A quick Google News search for the term shallow grave displayed example after example from the last month alone of killers continuing to be lazy when it really counts.

DETROIT — "Police are investigating the discovery of two bodies found in a vacant field on the city's west side. The bodies were found behind a home Friday afternoon. One body was found in a shallow grave and another was under a mattress..."

MEXICO CITY - "The remains of 33 people were found in a shallow grave on an abandoned property in the border town of Ciudad Juarez.  Authorities believe the mass burial to be linked to the city's violent drug trade..."

Philippines - "The body of a man thought to be Indonesian bomb expert Dulmatin, one of those behind the Bali bombings, was recovered from a shallow grave in the island of Tawi-tawi, said Major General Ben Dolorfino..."

Biddaddaba, Australia - "The skeletal remains of a man found in the Gold Coast hinterland had lain buried in a shallow grave for more than six months..."

Look, people, didn't your daddy ever tell you that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right? Put in the extra effort and keep digging. What's another hour to button everything up at the end of  the day? In the long run, you'll sleep better.

 

Comments

[Raul]

i never got the shallow grave thing either...and being half mexican i know we can fit a lot of people in a car, but 33 people in a shallow grave...now that is amazing

[Christina L.]

Well, I think the point for a lot of the homocides is not to get away with it, but to simply take that person's life for whatever reason. If you're confident they won't find evidence on the corpse, then why not be lazy about discarding of the expired body? Just a thought. Morbid to even be discussing this, but certainly more interesting than say that one entry you did about postage stamps.

[Kings Fan]

Thanks for letting me know that there was a shallow grave of 33 people in Mexico City and of their violent drug trade. I have a four-hour delay there and I'm sure they enjoy messing with young Americans.

[Diane]

Shallow grave doesn't seem like an apt description of a place that can hold 33 bodies.

[Vic Rattler]

I've had to dig a grave for two cats (natural causes, nothing twisted,) and I made sure to put them down at least 5ft. If the time it took were applied to a full size person it might've taken 2hrs+.
Worth it to avoid the prison term.

[EditThis]

When I was in college, my Anthropology professor also worked in forensics for the city. One day, he gave us an interesting lecture on how to bury a body so it won't be discovered. His first recommendation? "You've got to go at LEAST 6 feet down." He said the reason most people get caught is because of the shallow grave.

[Jimmy Hoffa]

I'm in a shallow grave RIGHT NOW and no one has found me yet! HAHAHA!! Here's a hint - it ain't in Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

Jim