Dozens of Pioneer-era headstones in Payson damaged


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PAYSON — Three dozen headstones were damaged at the Payson cemetery, and police say the person responsible wanted to help the dead.

The damage was discovered Sunday afternoon. About 30 to 35 headstones were intentionally damaged. A cellphone left in the cemetery led police to 36-year-old Spencer Robinson.

Police said Robinson told them he was trying to help the people buried in the cemetery rise from the dead on Easter.

“He felt like he was doing them a favor helping them to have an easier time to be resurrected,” Payson Police Lt. Bill Wright said.

Robinson’s father, Jack Robinson, said his son has been dealing with mental illness for 18 years. He says Spencer Robinson has bipolar schizoaffective disorder.

“He has had some sort of fixation on people that have passed on and somehow feels that he needs to free them from capture in the ground,” Jack Robinson said.

Police say Spencer Robinson caused about $50,000 in damage. He was booked into jail for investigation of felony criminal mischief.

"We are grateful, at this point, that he is in the county jail and that he’s safe,” Jack Robinson said.

“It’s unfortunate that this individual felt like he was doing a favor for the deceased, and he was not,” Wright said.


He has had some sort of fixation on people that have passed on and somehow feels that he needs to free them from capture in the ground.

–Jack Robinson, father


Jack Robinson said getting his son to take his medication on a regular basis is nearly impossible and that he needs to be held accountable for his actions.

“I’m hopeful, and I will certainly do what I can to have him referred to mental health court here,” he said.

Cemetery coordinator Todd Reynaud said some of the damaged sandstone and granite headstones date back to 1909. The majority of the headstones vandalized are from the Pioneer era.

“To think of the history of some of these 100-year-old-plus old headstones have had and to see them destroyed just made me sick,” Reynaud said. “It was all hand-carved, so they are all true works of art, and they were meant to be lasting. And to have them destroyed this way, it hurts you.”

The vandalism is heartbreaking for people in Payson. They say the headstones not only showcase unique artwork, but also provide a rich history in the community.

“We walk by here and we read all of them, and we have been really interested in the history here in Payson and the cemetery,” said Joan Spencer, who walks 4 miles around the cemetery with friends every day.

Reynaud said they have been able to identify all but one of the vandalized headstones and return them to the proper graves. He said one proved particularly difficult.

“All it says on it is ‘Mother,'" Reynaud said, "and with our records, we just can’t look up ‘mother,’ so we actually have to walk down every line of stone and look for a spot that is bare, that it should back into.”

The damage to most of the stones can’t be repaired.

“Those old sandstone ones, you can’t replace them anymore,” Reynaud said. “They don’t make them that way, and you can’t just glue them back together."

Contributing: Viviane Vo-Duc

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