Kentucky man tries to help father 'go to heaven' -- by digging up his grave

A 44-year-old Kentucky man was arrested on Monday night after his local constable caught him digging up his late father's body, WLEX-TV reported.

"I went back and hollered for him to step back in the light and he told me to step back to the dark," Lincoln County Constable Keith Mitchell of his encounter with Michael Dale May (pictured above). "That's when I went and got my flashlight. He started hollering out [Bible] verses at me. He told me he was trying to dig his dad up, so his dad could go to Heaven."

May was charged with public intoxication, marijuana possession, and violating a grave.

The suspect told WLEX that a Bible verse led him into the cemetery outside Pilot Baptist Church to dig up the body of his father, who has reportedly been dead for nearly 40 years. May also said he believed that he had done nothing wrong.

"I see the truth," he said. "He needs to be on the ground. Not under it."

Investigators noted that May appeared to be "under the influence" at the time of his arrest. He is due in court on Monday. However, he did not rule out trying to dig the body up again.

"It's a possibility," he said. "If the truth doesn't come out and nobody sees the truth, yeah I'll do it again."