German Woman to Sue Over Grave-Snatching Incident

The tranquility of the Evangelical graveyard in the town of Boossen, eastern Germany, has been disrupted ever since resident Christa Jahn, 73, made a shocking discovery. The grave plot she had reserved for herself next to her late husband, Hans, has already been taken -- by Hans' aunt.

Jahn only learned of the grave-robbing when she brought fresh flowers to lay at her husband's headstone.

"As I stood before the double grave, I thought my heart would explode," the widow told the Berlin tabloid, B.Z. "Another person was lying in the place that was reserved for me!"

The aunt in question died in January.

"Now I know why I wasn't invited to her funeral -- it's a mean-spirited intrigue on the part of my relatives," Jahn said.

The distraught Jahn has demanded that the local Evangelical community responsible for the graveyard free her plot and bury the aunt elsewhere. The graveyard's administrators have turned down her request.

Family feud

"I thought the family had made these arrangements," said church spokeswoman Anneliese Gerlach. "Frau Jahn's daughter arranged her aunt's funeral, and told me that her mother wished to be buried in an urn in her husband's plot."

While the family will undoubtedly have plenty to discuss at their next reunion, Jahn is not giving up her dispute with the church, and has engaged a legal team to reclaim her grave so that she may eventually rest in peace.

"A grave is not the kind of property you trade or exchange," she said. "It's for eternity."