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Freetown cemetery vandalism case ends with guilty plea, but motive remains unknown
Jacob Dupuis, 24, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from cemetery vandalism and other incidents in Freetown in 2022. Police said a tip during an unrelated call helped break a case that had gone without a suspect for years.
A four-year investigation into vandalism at Freetown cemeteries ended with a guilty plea from Jacob Dupuis, 24, who admitted to charges connected to a series of incidents in 2022.
Dupuis pleaded guilty to charges including vandalizing a gravestone, vandalizing property and malicious destruction of property valued at more than $1,200, along with other offenses. The incidents included red spray paint on multiple gravestones, with offensive messages such as “My head hurts” and “Catch me if you can.”
The case also involved graffiti on cemetery buildings and Molotov cocktail incidents at Profile Rock, according to Freetown police. The motive for the vandalism has not been disclosed.
Police Lt. Benjamin Levesque said investigators struggled for years to identify a suspect. They initially hoped technology might help trace activity near one cemetery, which was in a remote location, but that effort did not produce a lead.
The investigation gained momentum after someone shared information about the person responsible during an unrelated police call. Levesque said the person came forward because they “had to get it off their chest” that they knew who was carrying out the vandalism.
Levesque described the case as personally frustrating for the department, saying officers were troubled that they had not been able to stop the incidents while they were happening. Dupuis did not provide an explanation for his actions, Levesque said.