One person indicted in Tilton mausoleum vandalism

A Belknap County Grand Jury returned three indictments against Fred “Cricket” Cross, accused of vandalizing a mausoleum and stealing ornate brass fixtures there in April.

Cross, 53, of Tilton, is accused of damaging metal fixtures at the Tilton family mausoleum at Park Cemetery in Tilton, stealing brass from the site in excess of $1,500 in value and destroying a gate and a door, part of dedicated memorials to the family. According to indictments returned in July, the alleged crimes were committed between April 8 and 16.

A criminal complaint filed in the 6th Circuit District Division in Franklin and dated May 13 reads that Cross “purposely damaged the property of another, the Park Cemetery Tilton Family [Mausoleum], belonging to the Tilton family, without right or reasonable basis to believe he had such a right, cutting the doors to the [mausoleum] and breaking the door to the vault, causing pecuniary loss in excess of $1,500.”

Cross was charged with theft by unauthorized taking, criminal mischief and interference with a cemetery, according to court documents. 

After his release on personal recognizance bail, Judge Edward B. Tenney ordered Cross not go to Park Cemetery, barred him from possessing a firearm, destructive device, dangerous weapon or ammunition and refrain from excessive use of alcohol or other drugs. He was placed under supervision by Belknap County pretrial services.

Court documents list his appointed attorney as Friedman & Bresaw of Meredith and a Monday, Aug. 12, probable cause hearing in Franklin. Cross is to be arraigned at Belknap County Superior Court in Laconia at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Cross was arrested and charged May 10 and booked into the Belknap County House of Corrections. He was initially held without bail. Tilton police served search warrants in Ashland and Northfield that led to the recovery of brass items believed to have been taken from the cemetery along with around $100,000 of construction equipment reported stolen from Concord and Ashland, as well as a stolen 9mm handgun, according to a May 13 Tilton Police Department press release.

Officers also recovered a decorative brass ring which had been reported missing from a chandelier located at the Tilton Mansion in the spring of 2023. 

The family mausoleum, located atop the tallest hill in the older portion of Park Cemetery, was erected to house the remains of the family which founded the town. Cemetery Sexton Paul Tierney discovered the vandalism when making his morning rounds of the property. The mausoleum was constructed in the 19th century and was left undisturbed until Cross allegedly vandalized it.

The vandalism resulted in the exposure of the casket of Joy Tilton, who previously served in the New Hampshire Statehouse. Tilton died in 2020 at age 85. Solid granite portions of the tomb were damaged and removed, resulting in the exposure of the casket. The coffins and bodies inside the mausoleum were not disturbed.

The decorative ring recovered was identified as one from a 162-year-old light fixture stolen from the Tilton Mansion at the Tilton School. The fixture was quickly recovered days after the theft by night security guard Brent Walterscheid.