Why Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had his ex-wife’s body dug up and moved to unidentified grave
Jen Thomas
Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide, alcohol abuse and domestic violence which some readers may find distressing.
They say that truth is often stranger than fiction, and this is one such scenario.
According to Politico, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arranged for the body of his ex-wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, to be dug up and moved elsewhere.
Kennedy Jr. - the nephew of the late US President John F. Kennedy - arranged for the grave of his ex-wife to be dug up back in 2012, in a move that raised eyebrows even at the time.
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Mary had sadly died by suicide at the age of 52, and had been in the process of divorcing her husband at the time, as well as battling alcohol addiction problems.
There had allegedly been some major disagreements between Kennedy Jr. and the rest of his estranged wife's family over where she should be laid to rest.
Kennedy Jr. had won a court case against her siblings in his bid for her to be buried at the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, near the Kennedy compound. However, her siblings had wanted to bury her close to where they lived in New York, so they could visit her regularly.
A gravedigger who helped to exhume his wife told the press that Kennedy Jr. 'didn’t realise how crowded the original area was until after the funeral, and he wanted to have the ability to lay his wife to rest among her family members'.
He arranged for her to be moved to an area where the Kennedys were applying to buy 50 plots, so she could be buried amongst her family members.
The new gravesite was left unmarked initially and was empty apart from her grave, with two American flags and some religious statues and iconography.
The gravedigger, Frank Maki, told the New York Daily News: "He opted for an area of the cemetery where there is room for future expansion."
Her family were not informed of the decision to move her, lawyers said, and she was moved 700 feet away.
She was then buried near Kennedy Jr.'s aunt and uncle, Eunice and Sargent Shriver.
Kennedy Jr. had also delivered a eulogy at her funeral.
It was all part of a bitter feud between the families, after Kennedy Jr. claimed that his wife had beaten him, regularly drank until she passed out, and threatened to harm herself in front of the four children they shared.
A court affidavit submitted by Kennedy Jr. asked for an order of protection to prevent her from attacking him, showing up uninvited to his home, and required her to remain sober around the children.
Her family hit out at his claims though, calling them 'vindictive lies'.
If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.
Alternatively, you can call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.