Chicago officials launched an investigation Thursday after more than 50 decomposing bodies were found improperly stored at a church funeral home
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office (MEO) said in a statement on Thursday it was notified of bodies at a mortuary on the south side of the city, and sent a team to inspect the situation
2:03
Maple Ridge funeral home posts vandalism video on social media
- Maple Ridge funeral home posts vandalism video on social media
Families remain in the dark over loved ones’ remains after West Island fire
Montreal man suing funeral home for cremating mother against her will
“The team has found more than 50 decedents in various states of decomposition at this time,” the statement reads
MEO staff are assessing the conditions of the remains, it added, which includes searching for documentation regarding identification of the decedents as well as death certificates
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News’ Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
“This process could take several days to ensure proper disposition.”
Investigators were seen outside the funeral home on Thursday night, NBC News reported, adding that the building had operated as a funeral home for 86 years and that neighbours had reported an unpleasant smell emanating from the premises
“The MEO will work with authorities to identify these decedents as quickly as possible and notify their families,” the statement concluded
This is not the first discovery of its kind to occur in recent times. Earlier this year, a former U.S. couple from Colorado were sentenced to jail time after 200 decomposed bodies were discovered in a building connected to the now-defunct funeral home they once ran
The ex-couple had co-owned Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, where they deceived grieving families by claiming to perform cremations. Instead, they hid the bodies in a bug-infested building and handed out dry concrete that resembled ashes
They were both arrested in November 2023, each charged with a total of 286 criminal counts, including abuse of a corpse, money laundering, forgery and theft
Carie Hallford was sentenced to 30 years in prison in April and Jon Hallford received a 40-year sentence in February
In March, Carrie was also sentenced to 18 years in prison for cheating customers and defrauding the federal government out of nearly US$900,000 in pandemic small business aid
Colorado has struggled to effectively oversee funeral homes and, for many years, has had some of the weakest regulations
Unlike nearly all other states, Colorado’s funeral homes weren’t routinely inspected. Many other states perform annual inspections that entail entering the premises and have educational requirements, such as a degree in mortuary science, a licensing exam or an apprenticeship
Illinois, by contrast, has a fairly robust regulatory framework laid out by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which has the authority to conduct inspections, examine funeral home records and enforce disciplinary action if necessary. The state’s funeral homes are also required to meet sanitation, ventilation and equipment standards, but there is no stipulation on annual or routine inspections
— with files from Global News’ Katie Scott
