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Five-year-old’s grave marker repossessed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WCMH) – A couple in North Carolina is demanding answers after the grave marker for their 5-year-old son was repossessed.

It’s almost been a year since Wayne and Crystal Leatherman had to bury their 5-year-old son, Jake, after he died from leukemia.

But when Crystal recently went to visit Jake’s grave, she discovered his marker was gone.

“He repossessed it, like it was a car,” Crystal told WBTV about the owner of the monument company who repossessed the marker.

The owner, J.C. Shoaf, said the couple did pay for the marker in full at the beginning, but they made changes that added to the cost of the stone.

“It was my first time in 56 years, I’ve had this problem,” Shoaf told WBTV.

However, the Leathermans say they were never told of the increase in cost.

“If I would have owed him the money I would have paid him. This is not something you argue over,” said Wayne.

The Leathermans said they are now looking for another company to build a permanent marker for their son.