The remains of 56 people were found improperly stored and decomposing on Thursday at a Chicago funeral home run by a couple who previously operated a crematory that was shut down for mishandling remains. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Illinois state officials suspended the license of one of the funeral home's directors, alleging bodies were kept in an unrefrigerated area in "deplorable conditions". The discovery came months after neighborhood residents began noticing a "stench" emanating from the funeral home, leading to complaints to the city.
The Cook County medical examiner's office said it was notified by state and local officials that bodies were being stored improperly at South Chicago Chapel, and investigators and forensic pathologists were dispatched Thursday. The remains were in various states of decomposition. The office said the process of assessing conditions and searching for documentation could take several days.
Police said on Friday that their preliminary statement incorrectly said that fire department officials declared the scene a hazardous materials incident. No arrests have been announced, but detectives are investigating.
Later Friday, residents and people seeking information about deceased loved ones gathered in front of the funeral home. Latasha Johnson, 55, said her mother's funeral was held there Thursday before authorities arrived. She said authorities told her her mother's body would undergo an autopsy and she would have to identify the remains. "I'm discombobulated," she said. "My heart is broken."
Community advocate Blaise Von Bruchhaeuser said it was upsetting that complaints about a terrible odor had been made for months before the decomposing bodies were found.
State business records show funeral director Johanna Morgan incorporated South Chicago Chapel in 2022, and her license was temporarily suspended on Wednesday. The state department of financial and professional regulation said the suspension was due to "a finding that respondent's continued practice is a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare due to respondent allowing multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated area with deplorable conditions including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies".
Records also list Clark Morgan, Johanna's husband, as the funeral home's president. His funeral director license was revoked in 2024 for practicing with an expired license and "unprofessional conduct".
State comptroller Susana Mendoza said the Morgans previously ran a crematory in Chicago Heights, which had its license revoked last year after authorities discovered improperly stored bodies and hundreds of cremated remains never returned to families. "Horrified. Again," Mendoza said. "The discovery of decomposing remains waiting to be laid to rest this week at a South Side funeral home is heartbreaking and an abomination. These are people – someone's mother, father, sister, brother, child or friend, and they deserve better."
Both are listed as defendants in lawsuits involving Heights Crematory. They live in Evergreen Park.
This is the latest in a series of incidents involving mishandled remains over the past three years. Last month, two men were arrested in Pueblo, Colorado, for allegedly mishandling at least two dozen decomposing bodies. In 2024, 18 bodies were found in Georgia; in 2023, nearly 200 bodies were found in Colorado, and 31 in Indiana.