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 Gangster John Dillinger to be exhumed infographic
Graphic shows the final moments of John Dillinger, with details on the exhumation – complicated by a concrete barrier.
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CRIME

John Dillinger’s concrete-fortified grave

By Ninian Carter

September 16, 2019 - The body of a notorious American bank robber is to be exhumed for a History Channel documentary. John Dillinger was gunned down by federal agents in Chicago in 1934 and buried under 2.3 tonnes of concrete to prevent the theft of his body. Conspiracy theorists believe a double was killed and not Dillinger, and that the concrete was set over the casket to stop anyone from finding out.

The body of John H. Dillinger will be exhumed at an Indiana cemetery and reinterred on the same day. It will be a formidable task as the grave of the gangster, who was gunned down by federal agents outside a movie theatre in Chicago in 1934, has been fortified with a thick layer of concrete.

The family is reported to have fortified the grave at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis with three feet of concrete to prevent theft of the body. A woman who answered the phone at the cemetery told the New York Times that Dillinger fans regularly stop by the cemetery office to inquire where his grave is. Once they find it, they like to pay homage and decorate it with items that include carnations, coins and bullet shells, then post their photos online.

Much of Dillinger’s notoriety rests on his ability to evade federal agents for weeks following his escape from an Indiana jail in 1934, where he was held on a charge of killing a policeman.

His body lies beneath a granite pillow marker, engraved with raised block letters that spell out Dillinger’s name and “1903-1934.”

Sources
PUBLISHED: 04/09/2019; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: FBI, Associated Press
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