AUBURN, Ala. — An Alabama man was arrested after he put flowers on his fiancée’s grave, WTVM reports.
Winchester Hagans, of Auburn, Alabama, lost his fiancée, Hannah Ford, in a car crash in January 2021. She was killed just a month after he proposed.
After she died, Hagans built Ford a planter box at her graveside so he could grow living flowers for her. Hagans said Ford hated cut flowers, so he just wanted to honor her.
“Even though she is gone, I promised her I would never bring her cut flowers again. She was the love of my life the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” he said.
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He filled the box with her favorite flowers and decorated it with pictures of the couple, as well as a carving of words to the song they got engaged to.
Hagans asked the city if the display was ok, and was told that they didn’t enforce littering rules unless a family member asked for something to be removed.
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Last month, Hagans was arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail last month on suspicion of littering charges. Ford’s father, Tom Ford, signed the warrant, according to WTVM.
Hagans said he was never contacted by Tom Ford before the arrest and was stunned when it happened.
“The officer came over and said, ‘Hey Mr. Hagans can you step out of the car? There is a warrant for your arrest.’ I said, ‘No, that’s impossible. There’s no way.”
It’s unclear why Tom Ford didn’t approve of the display. WTVM reached out for comment but didn’t hear back.
Hagan’s father, Rick Hagans, wrote that his son was taught to honor the dead.
“He was raised in the loyal traditions of the Irish, Appalachian hill people, and Native Americans, Winchester’s people,” he wrote on Facebook. “All people honor their dead. Even our Christian forefathers honored their dead with cemetery symbols and ceremony. Seems all people honor their dead in one form or fashion. Our people certainly do. Winchester most certainly has.”
Auburn, Alabama is about 45 minutes from the Georgia line.
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