MIAMI – On first glance it looked like a funeral at Dade Memorial Park, but this was the opposite.
The earth was dug up Thursday from the grave of Lula Mae Hilton, grandmother of Indianapolis Colts star receiver T.Y. Hilton, after the family was told by the cemetery that there had been a graveyard mix-up and that she wasn't actually buried where her headstone was located and where they were told she'd been buried eight years ago.
The disturbing mistake became known when the cemetery realized that the plot where Hilton was thought to have been buried had been purchased by someone else who recently died.
Then it was learned her remains were actually buried in an unmarked plot nearby, directly to the right of where it was believed by the family she'd been buried.
"Day after day, four times, five times a year coming out here, I'm sitting there talking to her making believe she's talking back to me," said her son, T.Y. Hilton Sr. "I was just talking to someone that didn't even exist in that spot. That's the hurting part."
Cemetery managers said Thursday that the mistake was made by the previous owners and that once they discovered there had been a mix-up, they notified the Hilton family and have done everything they can to rectify what they admitted was a terrible situation.
Part of that process was raising her white casket from the ground Thursday to give certainty to the family that her remains had not been misplaced.
After the casket was disinterred, one family member after another was shown an identification band affixed to the casket to seal their confidence.
For granddaughter Corteona, sister of the football star who is in Indianapolis preparing for Sunday's game, it brought back some happy memories and the pain of the loss.
"My grandma, she was one that spoiled everybody. She was the one that gave the candy when mommy and daddy said no," she said smiling before breaking down into tears. "It was tough watching it all over again."
As tough as it was for the family, T.Y. Hilton Sr. said he was glad the truth came to light.
"We got some type of closure," he said. "She's in the right place and I'm very happy of that, but I'm still sad that we had to go through that once again. Just thank god it's all over."
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