For Irina and many other families, the only consolation is that the remains of their sons and husbands could soon be coming home for burial.

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After the ceremony the women's bodies were to be taken to their home villages for burial.

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Trade in relics arose in the Middle Ages, when Catholic pilgrims returned home from the Holy Land with tokens of the burial places of martyrs or of the martyrs themselves.

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When Lambda Legal proved unable to raise funds for a proper memorial or burial, Harris County cremated him and sent his ashes home to his family in a plastic bag.

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Plans had not been finalized for the burial of her son, Adam, who fatally shot her Friday at their home before targeting the Newtown school and eventually taking his own life.

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