Reward offered in case of vandalized Christ statues

SANDY — Sandy Police Sgt. Troy Arnold says he hasn't seen this much public outcry in a long time.

"I've read and heard more people upset about this than a lot of things I've heard recently," he said.

Sometime over the weekend, three marble statues of Jesus Christ at the Larkin Sunset Gardens cemetery at 10600 S. 1950 East were vandalized. Two of the statues were decapitated, and the heads remained missing as of Wednesday. Damage to each statue was at least $10,000, Arnold said.

Now, an anonymous donor has stepped forward, offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.

"They have a family member buried up there," Arnold said. "It's very disturbing to them to have that happen so close to where family members are buried."

As of Wednesday, detectives had received many calls from concerned and upset citizens, but they had no leads in the case.

"We have nothing to go on. We're hoping someone will see this (reward)," Arnold said.

The missing heads are life-sized and "quite heavy," he said. It would take either one very strong person or several people to carry them away.

There were no tire tracks in the area where the vandalism occurred. The last person to visit the cemetery Saturday left at 8 p.m. The damage was discovered when a person showed up for work Monday between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.

A possible motive for the vandalism was not known Wednesday.

Anyone with information can call police at 801-568-7200 or 801-840-4000.

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com