GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A Clifton, Colo., man has been fired from his job as a grave digger after he was filmed gyrating and playing a simulated guitar while standing on a burial vault.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office says 27-year-old Christopher Redd could face misdemeanor charges of desecration of venerated objects after his antics on July 23 at Memorial Gardens.
According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Redd says it was a botched attempt to win tickets for a rock jam festival. He says it was an empty concrete vault and it happened before a funeral service was held at the site.
Redd didn’t win the tickets because he did not fulfill a contest requirement of posting the video to Youtube.com.
The burial worker claims that in the video he was standing on an empty vault that was to be filled with a coffin the next day and his immediate boss gave him permission to record the video, but he was fired anyway, NBC11 reports. The cemetery denies giving any permission to Redd.
Redd’s Facebook page indicates he was employed by Memorial Gardens through Quick Temps, a Grand Junction-based temporary staffing company.
Redd uploaded the video of himself playing simulated guitar in the still open grave to his Facebook page.
