Kentucky Man Tries to Dig Up Dead Dad So He Can 'Go to Heaven'

A Kentucky man was caught in the act of digging up the body of his long-dead father so his dad "could go to heaven," authorities said — and he said he would do it again.

Michael Dale May, 44, of Somerset was being held Wednesday in the Lincoln County Regional Jail on $1,000 cash bond on charges of violating graves, public intoxication and possession of marijuana. Court records indicate he has no previous criminal record.

County Constable Delbert Mitchell told NBC station WLEX of Lexington that he interrupted May in the cemetery at Pilot Baptist Church in Eubank near midnight Monday.

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"He started hollering out [Bible] verses at me," Mitchell said. "He told me he was trying to dig his dad up so his dad could go to heaven."

In a jailhouse interview with WLEX, May acknowledged that he was, indeed, trying to exhume his father, who he said died more than 30 years ago. He said he'd done nothing wrong and didn't believe he should be in jail because he was obeying Scripture.

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"I see the truth," said May, who didn't explain what that Scripture was. "He needs to be on the ground, not under it, not below it."

And he promised: "If the truth doesn't come out and nobody sees the truth, yeah, I'll do it again."