Willie Simms was an 11-year-old Black boy who died in 1921 and was buried in a historic Houston-area cemetery believed to serve Black veterans and their families. His grave remained undisturbed for decades until May 2008, when Harris County Sheriff’s investigators found the gravesite uncovered and the headstone broken and thrown aside after several people had spent two days attempting to dig up the body.

The disturbance came after a tip that a human skull had been stolen and was being used to smoke marijuana. Three youths were arrested: 17-year-old Kevin Wade Jones, 17-year-old Matthew Aaron Gonzalez, and an unnamed minor. All three admitted trying to dig up a body and were charged with abuse of a corpse; the suspects were also tied to a vehicle break-in, with Jones and the minor charged with credit card abuse and Gonzalez later pleading guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge. Heavy rains had flooded the open grave, so investigators could not confirm whether the skull had been removed, and the suspects gave conflicting accounts. Police were attempting to locate any surviving relatives and said the ultimate goal was to put the body back to rest.

If anyone knew Willie Simms or his family, or has information about the cemetery incident, please share what is known.