Police Officer Gives Woman a Ride to the Cemetery, Only to Learn She Had Been Sleeping on Her Husband’s Grave for Months
A brief encounter between a police officer and a grieving widow led to a meaningful change in both of their lives and an unexpected friendship
Tereza Shkurtaj
Sat, January 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
3 min read
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Syracuse Police Dept.
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In December 2025, a Syracuse police officer offered a ride to a woman struggling with her groceries
After a photo of the encounter spread online, the officer learned the woman had been sleeping on her husband’s grave for months
Determined to help, the officer managed to raise funds for the widow and even found her a safe, warm home as winter temperatures fell
A chance encounter between an officer with the Syracuse Police Department and a woman carrying groceries became a lifeline for her after months of homelessness.
On Dec. 13, 2025, while parked in his patrol car, Officer Jamie Pastorello, 33, noticed Rhea Holmes struggling up a hill with a box of groceries and offered her a ride. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to go give this lady a ride,’” Pastorello told TODAY.com.
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Holmes, 55, revealed she was headed to a cemetery in Syracuse, N.Y., where her husband was buried. During the short drive, she spoke about her 26-year marriage and her faith, thanking him repeatedly for stopping to help.
Syracuse Police Dept.
Before getting out of the car, Holmes asked Pastorello to take a photo with her. The department later posted the image on Facebook in the days before Christmas, describing it as a moment of kindness during the holiday season. The post spread widely, even reaching a maintenance worker at the cemetery, who recognized Holmes and contacted authorities with concerns.
The worker said he had seen Holmes regularly since the summer and believed she had been sleeping in the cemetery, often on her husband’s grave. The information shocked Pastorello. “We deal with homelessness every day,” he said. “She had no signs whatsoever.”
As it turns out, Holmes had been living at the cemetery for about eight months, near the graves of both her husband and her father. She slept on a tarp laid across her husband's grave, "wore the same outfit every day" and stored limited grocery items nearby.
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She avoided drawing attention to herself and never asked for help. “I never imagined I’d be in that situation,” Holmes told TODAY.com. “Not in a million years.”
Before losing housing, Holmes worked as an administrative assistant. Her husband, Rev. Eddie Holmes, was a minister and musician who also worked as a security guard. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 2020 at age 69.
After his death and consumed by grief, Rhea lost her job and was eventually evicted. She avoided shelters because she felt safer on her own – surviving frigid winter nights outdoors and using nearby campus bathrooms to maintain basic hygiene.
Despite her circumstances, she continued volunteering at food pantries and churches. “I just kept giving to others,” Rhea said. “It was the only way I could keep going.”
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Rhea said she believes her faith led her to Pastorello. “God put Jamie there,” she emphasized. “He knew I needed help, and He guided me to him.”
After learning the full extent of her situation, Pastorello helped secure temporary housing for Rhea and started a GoFundMe that raised her over $27,000.
“Rhea, you’re not going to sleep outside again. I’m not going to let that happen,” he told her.
She was later connected with a local organization that provides small, fully furnished homes for those in need – and moved into a fully furnished unit on Jan. 5, 2026.
As Syracuse temperatures dropped well below freezing during the recent snowstorms, Rhea was safely indoors. “I know I wouldn’t have made it,” she told TODAY.com. “If that ride hadn’t happened when it did … I don’t even want to imagine.”
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Over a month after their first meeting, Pastorello said he and Rhea have become "great friends," talking on the phone nearly every day and often meeting up for coffee.
“Sometimes, it’s just about showing up,” Pastorello told TODAY. “A simple act at the right time can change everything.”
Read the original article on People