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| Charlie's second gravesite |
On March 2nd, 1978, Charlie's coffin was dug up & stolen from his grave in Vevey, Switzerland. It would not be recovered for another three months. Roman Wardas and Gantscho Ganev were convicted in December 1978 of stealing the coffin and trying to extort money from the Chaplin family. In his lifetime, Charlie had said that if he were ever kidnapped under no circumstances was ransom money to be paid by any member of his family. Oona kept her promise and refused to pay saying. “A body is simply a body. My husband is in heaven and in my heart." However Oona and Geraldine pretended to negotiate with the graverobbers over the phone, which made it easier to apprehend them. At one point the graverobbers even threatened to break young Christopher Chaplin’s legs if the family didn’t meet their demands. The farmer in whose cornfield Charlie was buried placed a marker at the gravesite with an inscription translating to: “Here slept, in peace, Charlie Chaplin." His body was reburied in a secure concrete tomb. Oona Chaplin would often visit Charlie’s second gravesite. “In some ways," she said, "it’s lovelier than the official grave."
Below Oona Chaplin talks about the return of Charlie's coffin in May 1978.
