Advertisement

31 decomposing bodies found in Indiana funeral home, police say

Police made a disturbing discovery at an Indiana funeral home, finding body after body decomposing alongside other human remains, officials told news outlets.

Officers with the Jeffersonville Police Department turned their attention to the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center after receiving tips about a strong smell coming from the building, police told TV station WHAS.

Officers searched the premises on Friday, July 1, and found a facility crowded with corpses — 31 in total — in various states of decomposition, WAVE reported. Some of the bodies appeared to be long dead, according to police.

Additionally, investigators found the cremated remains of 16 people, the outlet reported.

Several bodies have been at the facility since March, police told the Louisville Courier Journal.

“We understand that this is going to be a situation where we’re really going to need the assistance of these families,” Major Isaac Parker told the outlet. “I’m sorry that they’ve already suffered a loss and now they’re dealing with this situation.”

Police have not said if any arrests have been made.

All bodies and remains have been handed over to the county coroner, who is working to identify them, the newspaper reported.

While officials sort out the situation, families that had counted on Lankford Funeral Home are left to wonder and worry, some residents told WHAS.

“I couldn’t sleep last night not knowing what happened to his body,” Tara Owens, who sent her brother’s remains to the business in April, said. “Has he been cremated? Is he not? What’s going on? If I do get cremated remains, how do I know that they’re him? It’s just really sad.”

Jeffersonville is about 3 miles northeast of downtown Louisville, Kentucky.

Baby’s remains were ‘thrown away’ before parents could bury their child, lawsuit says

Dad’s body left unburied in sweltering heat for 3 days at Utah gravesite, family says

‘Strange’ call to funeral home leads to body of man dead for year, Connecticut cops say

Funeral home left 11 bodies to rot and mummify, California officials say. ‘Monstrous’