A Virginia woman who was upset by protests at a funeral home holding the body of Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarvaev decided to solve the problem by finding a cemetery for Tsarnaev and helping facilitate his burial, the Boston Globe reported Friday. Tsarnaev has been buried in a Muslim cemetery outside of Richmond, Va., as a result of her efforts.
Martha Mullen, 48, a licensed professional counselor in Richmond, Va., said she was sitting in a Starbucks Tuesday when she decided to solve the problem herself.
After searching the Web for proper Muslim burial traditions and requirements, she turned her search to any local organizations or cemeteries that might be able to facilitate the burial.
Mullen said she then e-mailed Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, which responded within an hour that it could provide a plot for Tsarnaev at the Al-Barzakh Cemetery, in Doswell, Va.
From there, Mullen reached out to the Worcester police — who had been providing around-the-clock protection for Stefan, whose funeral home had held Tsarnaev’s body for the past week.
Throughout Tuesday night and most of the day Wednesday, Stefan, Worcester police, and the Islamic Funeral Services crafted a plan to get the body to Virginia.
Tsarnaev’s body was removed from the home Thursday night without any public notice. Only after it was buried did Worcester police publicly announce both the removal of the remains and their entombment somewhere outside of Worcester.
