Paul Alladice burial record | The Hart Island Project

Inside the mysteries of Hart Island in the Bronx, the cemetery of the unknown

by Dan Mannarino/PIX11

Darryl Alladice and his brother, Paul, were born and raised in New York City.

In 1987, Paul was striving to become an actor in New York. Darryl moved to Boston to pursue a music career.

By 1997, the two had grown distant, talking every few months.

"I realized at some point," remembers Darryl, "that he [Paul] was not answering his phone.

He began wondering whatever happened to his brother. His niece did not even know what became of her own father.

It turns out, Paul had HIV/AIDS, and checked himself into Saint Luke's Hospital in 1997. He died there, alone.
However, Darryl or his niece were never notified.

"To what extent did you reach out to say you need to claim this body," asked Darryl.

Records obtained by PIX11 show that after six days unclaimed, Paul was sent for a city burial on Hart Island.

Paul was not poor, he was not unknown. His family were never notified, an error in the system.

For the next 15 years, Darryl searched for answers. He obtained the death certificate for his brother, but could never find where he was buried.

"He's family, he's my brother," said Darryl.

He wanted to close the chapter.

Darryl then found Hart Island. For decades the island was closed to the public, to the families who lost loved ones and to the media.

But, in 2015, families of the deceased filed a lawsuit demanding access - and they won.

It was then, that the Department of Corrections granted families access to the island once a month.