Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Nearly a century after he was murdered and hastily placed in an unmarked grave, a Utah deputy game warden has received a proper memorial service and grave marker.
Ernest Berry died in 1914 after chasing after a duck poacher in a marsh outside Salt Lake City. His body was found several days later, hidden in some bushes. An autopsy revealed he'd been shot twice with a shotgun.
His killer was never found. Berry, a Swiss immigrant and full-time city employee, was placed in a grave in his brother-in-law's family plot with little fanfare and no marker.
After extensive research, local historian and writer Robert Kirby recently identified Berry's grave site.
"It's the circumstances of the job that some of them are going to get killed doing it, and I think it's reprehensible that we treat them like they are disposable," Kirby said.
A memorial service -- complete with a color guard and gun volley -- was held for Berry Wednesday at one of Salt Lake City's oldest cemeteries. Officials have been unable to contact any of his descendants.
------
Story compiled by The Associated Press with contributions from KSL News
