31 bodies were found by police, including some that had been left behind. “advanced stages of decomposition,”After receiving complaints about bad odors emanating from an Indiana funeral home, authorities stated that the building was now closed.
Major Isaac Parker of Jeffersonville Police Department stated that officers did smell a strong odor consistent with a body in decay. If you walked inside the business itself, you’d understand this is abnormal for any funeral home,” Parker told WHAS-TV.
Parker said the owner of the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center has been cooperative and talking with investigators. In the ongoing investigation, no charges have been brought against anyone.
Police did not provide any details but stated that it was early in their investigation which started over the weekend.
Jeffersonville, Indiana, is home to around 49,000 people. It is located in southern Indiana across the Ohio River, from Louisville, Kentucky.
Parker stated that 16 cremated remains were also found in the mortuary.
Tara Owens said that her brother Mike died in April and that she sent his remains to the funeral home.
Owens claimed that she asked for the remains to be cremated but had not been in a position to contact the funeral home’s owners since receiving her brother’s body to the mortuary.
Owens stated that she was stunned to hear about the police investigation.
The bodies and cremated remains are now in the possession of the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
The website and social media accounts of the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center have been deactivated. The business phone number answers with a recording that directs all callers to contact the coroner’s office. The recording indicated that the voicemail inbox was full and could no longer accept messages.