Victim Thomas Holder
Former City Councilman Manny Rico, who discovered two dead bodies at the Highland Memorial Gardens on Tuesday morning, said it appeared their killers "were making a statement."
Mr. Rico said the bodies were lying on a roadway. He said, "It was just a short distance from some woods. They could have dumped them there and they would not have been found for a long time."
Police said Wednesday that the slayings of Thomas Holder, 20, and 17-year-old Rayshann Underwood were "gang motivated."
It is the same cemetery at the Shepherd community where gang leader Jumoke Johnson was buried after he was gunned down in late January.
Mr. Rico, who has a monument company, said there were some unmarked graves nearby, but he did not know the location of the Johnson grave or of any other gang members who have been killed.
He said he was at the cemetery on Shepherd Road off Highway 153 and was near the back when he spotted the bodies.
He said he first thought they were sleeping and he was fearful about getting out of his vehicle. "I was afraid they might wake up and try to harm me."
Mr. Rico said their eyes were closed "and I had heard that a dead person has their eyes open."
He said he pressed down on his horn "and they didn't flinch."
He then drove on to tell the caretaker about the pair. The caretaker checked and told him, "Yes, they're dead."
Holder had just gotten out of the workhouse two days earlier. He pleaded guilty in August of 2016 to charges of reckless endangerment, providing a handgun to a juvenile, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and possession of a prohibited weapon. He got a two-year sentence, which he served at the jail and workhouse.