A vandalism spree that sickened visitors to a Faribault cemetery turned out to be the handiwork of two girls ages 10 and 11 who were apparently trying to hurt a teenage boy. Faribault police Capt. Neal Pederson said the girls painted vulgar words and the boy's phone number on about a dozen markers. Visitors to the cemetery on Monday were the first to notice the graffiti and call police.

A detective followed up on the phone number and spoke to the boy, who said he suspected two girls who have been bullying him were trying to get him in trouble.

The girls admitted the damage; they didn't give any indication of where they got the idea to vandalize grave markers, said Pederson. "We were all kind of trying to wrap our head around that," he said. The Rice County attorney's office will determine if the girls are petitioned into juvenile court or sent through a diversion program.

The defaced markers included that of Evelynn Bauernfeind, a six-year-old girl who died two years ago of lifelong heart complicatoins. Her family has set up a website to help pay for restoration of her grave marker.