funeral home

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Toronto Is Running Out of Burial Space
Toronto Is Running Out
of Burial Space
longform
Mar 16, 2024 9:30 AM CDT

Toronto Is Running Out of Burial Space

The Local looks at the complex dynamics at play in the bereavement industry

(Newser) - Residents of Toronto who aim to be buried in their city better be planning ahead. Because as Inori Roy reports in the Local , the city is quickly running out of burial space. Advocates have been raising the alarm for years, and the issue is coming to a head. The city...

What Is Going On With Colorado Funeral Homes?

Cops say ex-funeral home director there kept a corpse in his hearse for 2 years

(Newser) - A former funeral home owner accused of hiding a woman's corpse in the back of a hearse for two years and hoarding the cremated remains of at least 30 people has been arrested, authorities said. Thursday night's arrest of Miles Harford, 33, is the latest allegation of misconduct...

FBI: Couple Could Easily Have Afforded to Cremate Bodies

Instead, they abandoned bodies and spent money on vehicles and other personal items, prosecutors say

(Newser) - Two Colorado funeral home owners accused of abandoning nearly 200 bodies took payments from families that were meant for cremations and burials and instead bought vehicles, cryptocurrency, a $1,500 dinner in Las Vegas, and other personal items, prosecutors and an FBI agent said Thursday. In a courtroom packed with...

Money Issues Allegedly Led Them to Abandon 200 Bodies

According to a judge in the Colorado funeral home case

(Newser) - Two Colorado funeral home owners apparently sought to cover up their financial difficulties by abandoning nearly 200 bodies that they had agreed to cremate or bury, instead storing the remains in a neglected building in many cases for years, a Colorado judge said Wednesday as he ruled that the criminal...

FBI Agent Describes Horrific Find at Funeral Home

In text message, co-owner said one option was to 'dig a big hole and use lye'

(Newser) - Investigators who entered a Colorado funeral home where nearly 200 abandoned bodies were found encountered stacks of partially covered human remains, bodily fluids several inches deep on the floor, and flies and maggots throughout the building, an FBI agent testified Thursday. Prosecutors also revealed text messages sent between the funeral...

After Grim Find, Colorado Funeral Home Owners Arrested

Authorities say 189 bodies were found at the Return to Nature facility

(Newser) - The owners of a Colorado funeral home were arrested in Oklahoma Wednesday, roughly a month after authorities said the decaying remains of more than 100 people were found at their facility. Return to Nature Funeral Home owners Jon and Carie Hallford were arrested in Wagoner on charges of abusing a...

189 Bodies Have Been Pulled From 'Green' Funeral Home

Now begins the process of identifying them for loved ones

(Newser) - The remains of at least 189 people have been removed from a Colorado funeral home, up from an initial estimate of about 115 when the decaying and improperly stored bodies were discovered two weeks ago, officials said Tuesday, per the AP . The remains were found by authorities responding to a...

Cops: 115 Decaying Bodies Found in 'Green' Funeral Home

The owner tried to claim he was conducting taxidermy at the Colorado facility, authorities say

(Newser) - The awful smell seeped from a neglected building in a small Colorado town for days, followed by a report that made police take a closer look at the "green" funeral operator's storage facility. Inside, they made a gruesome discovery: at least 115 decaying bodies, per the AP . Investigators...

Report: Funeral Home Owner Claimed He Practiced Taxidermy

115 decaying human bodies were found at Return to Nature facility in Colorado

(Newser) - The owner of a Colorado funeral home where 115 decaying bodies were found tried to conceal the improper storage of corpses and claimed he was doing animal taxidermy at the facility, according to a suspension letter sent to him by state regulators. The Return to Nature Funeral Home facility in...

Sheriff: Scene Inside 'Green' Funeral Home Was 'Horrific'

115 bodies found at Colorado facility under investigation for improperly storing remains

(Newser) - Police said Friday they have found at least 115 bodies at a Colorado "green" funeral home under investigation for improper handling of remains. Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper, who described the scene as "horrific," said they are coordinating with other agencies to determine if there is any...

Court: No Suit Over Woman Mistakenly Declared Dead

Panel says family of Timesha Beauchamp, who did eventually die, can't file complaint against EMTs

(Newser) - The family of a Michigan woman who was erroneously declared dead in 2020, then declared dead for real eight weeks later, tried to sue the city of Southfield and four first responders whose bad judgment, they say, contributed to Timesha Beauchamp's demise from a brain injury. Her family says...

Days After 'Dead' Woman Was Found Alive, a New Incident

Last time it happened in Iowa; this time, a 'deceased' woman was found breathing on Long Island

(Newser) - It's not a trend we wanted to see in 2023, but it's one that's emerging. Last month, a senior citizen in Iowa was pronounced dead at a continuing care home, only to be found alive shortly thereafter at a funeral home (she then died two days later,...

Funeral Home Staff Unzipped a Body Bag, Got Quite a Shock

Woman who'd been declared dead at Iowa continuing care facility was actually still alive

(Newser) - At least four people who were sure a woman with early-onset dementia at a continuing care home in Iowa had passed away didn't get it right, and the facility is now facing a hefty fine. ABC News reports on the incident out of Urbandale, where the 66-year-old in hospice...

Funeral Home Van Stolen, With a Body Inside

Police in Illinois recover both, separately, but are still searching for suspect

(Newser) - A thief who stole a van from a funeral home in Illinois last week probably should have expected the next development: A man's body was in the cargo area. Police in Rockford say the van belonged to Collins & Stone Funeral Home, which was in the process of handling...

'Real-Life Body-Snatching Case' Reaches Its Conclusion

Megan Hess sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty to mail fraud

(Newser) - Prosecutors said what victims perceived as Megan Hess' lack of remorse would be considered at her January sentencing, and it apparently was. The former Colorado funeral home operator faced up to 20 years after pleading guilty in July to a count of mail fraud tied to a scheme in which...

Interest 'Flourishing' in This Rather Grim Career

Amid an industry worker shortage, mortuary science programs are seeing big enrollment jump

(Newser) - Mortuary schools are still doing the hard sell on their websites to get potential funeral home workers to enroll. Turns out, though, that may not be necessary at the moment. Although there's a worker shortage in the industry, interest in funeral services is "flourishing," reports CNN Business...

Family: Body at Wake Reeked, Face 'Looked Like It Was Caved In'

They've filed suit against Brooklyn funeral home over condition of a 37-year-old woman's remains

(Newser) - What was supposed to be a dignified memorial service for Regina Christophe now has her family suing a New York City funeral home. The 37-year-old died in her sleep on June 24, and her family soon after retained McManus Funeral Home in Brooklyn to prepare her body for the service...

Cops Find 'Very Unpleasant Scene' at Funeral Home

Some of the 31 bodies inside were in an advanced state of decomposition

(Newser) - Police in Jeffersonville, Indiana say officers knew something was badly wrong as soon as they arrived at Lankford Funeral Home, where there had been reports of a bad odor. Police say 31 bodies, some of them in an advanced state of decomposition, were found at the business Friday night. "...

At Viewing, They Found a Stranger's Body in Mom's Clothes

'We just couldn't understand how this could happen'

(Newser) - Two daughters of a North Carolina woman who died last month say they walked up to her casket and found another woman's body dressed in their mother's clothes. While such mix-ups happen surprisingly often, per Newsweek , Jennifer Taylor and Jennetta Archer say the Sept. 7 viewing at Hunter'...

Body on Gurney Rolls Out of Stolen Mortuary Van

Suspect Kijon Griffin escaped police but turned himself in 2 days later

(Newser) - "It's ridiculous that the dead can't even rest," says mortuary owner Stan Henderson. Police say a suspect in several felonies who was fleeing officers stole a mortuary van with a body inside from the parking lot of Henderson's Conyers, Georgia, business Tuesday afternoon, Fox 5...

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