There’s a fascinating story in yesterday’s New York Times about the funeral director who has the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bombers.
Peter A. Stefan, who runs Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester, has experience doing Muslim funerals and burial. However, he is stuck with Tsarnaev’s body, because he can’t find a cemetery that will allow his burial.
Tsarnaev’s uncle Ruslan Tsarni had requested a simple graveside service. This takes place after the body is washed in accordance with Muslim custom.
None of that can happen until Mr. Stefan finds a burial place; as of Friday afternoon, he had been turned down by several cemeteries. And Russia did not want his body shipped there, either.