Pixley-Fulford Mausoleum vandalized in brazen robbery

Annie Pixley was considered one of the most famous actors on the planet in the late 1800s, and she had ties to the area.

“The best way to put it is, imagine if somebody like Tom Hanks was buried here in London. She was on the same level of fame as any A-list or Hollywood star today,” said Historian Joesph O’Neil.

Pixley was known worldwide, but also performed at the original Grand Theatre in London, Ont. When she died, her husband Robert Fulford built the mausoleum in her honour, which also holds members of their family.

"To this very day, that is considered one of the finest private mausoleums in any cemetery anywhere in Canada," O’Neil said.

Fast forward to February 24 of this year, staff at Woodland Cemetery discover the damage left behind by thieves who targeted the bronze door.

“They cut a circle. There's a really ornate piece of metalwork in the center of those circles. And therefore, it looks like maybe it was targeted,” says Woodland Cemetery general manager Ken Portery.

He added that the thieves returned the next night and brazenly cut out the circle of the second door.

This undated photo shows damage done to the bronze doors on the late actor Annie Pixley’s mausoleum in Woodland Cemetery in London, Ont. (Source: Ken Porter)

“We have the police involved, and they've been investigating. They left the frame and they cut pieces out of it and they cut the circle out of it,” said Portery.

Woodland has undergone a security audit and will be intensifying security on the property, as this has not been an isolated incident.

With no living decedents, Woodland Cemetery has begun the process to repair the doors of Pixley’s mausoleum.

"We've already secured a craftsman, metalworking craftsman. And the plans are already being implemented," said Porter.

If anyone notices the ornate pieces, they are asked to contact police. Repairs to the site are expected to be completed by the fall.

This undated photo shows damage done to the bronze doors on the late actor Annie Pixley’s mausoleum in Woodland Cemetery in London, Ont. (Source: Ken Porter)