Class-action lawsuit filed against Chicago funeral home where 57 bodies were found
Class-action lawsuit filed against Chicago funeral home where 57 bodies were found
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against a South Side Chicago funeral home where authorities found more than 50 decomposing bodies during a state licensing investigation.
CHICAGO - A class-action lawsuit has been filed against a South Side Chicago funeral home where authorities found more than 50 decomposing bodies during a state licensing investigation.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by a Texas woman who alleges one of the bodies found at the funeral home was her father’s.
Class-action lawsuit filed against Chicago funeral home
The backstory:
South Chicago Chapel, located at 2939 E. 95th St., was investigated last week after the license of funeral director and embalmer Johanna Morgan was temporarily suspended.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation determined the funeral home posed "a danger to public safety, interest and welfare," according to state records.
While investigators were inside the funeral home, they discovered human remains.
State records allege investigators found more than 50 sets of human remains inside the building. Some were reportedly left unrefrigerated in deplorable conditions and were infested with rodents and maggots.
What the lawsuit alleges:
According to the lawsuit, the Texas woman’s father died Aug. 4, and the funeral home took possession of his body.
Two days later, her family went to the funeral home to have his body transferred to another funeral home. When they arrived, however, city and county officials were removing 57 decomposing bodies from the building, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges her father’s body was among the 57.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office took possession of the remains and is working to identify them and notify their families.
The lawsuit alleges the funeral home failed to properly attach identifying information to bodies in its possession, maintain an accurate inventory and follow appropriate policies and procedures for the custody, identification, preservation, storage and disposition of human remains.
What's next:
At least 11 of the remains have been identified. The Cook County medical examiner’s office said it has notified 10 families.
The next court date is scheduled for Oct. 13.
The Source: The information in this article was provided by Cook County court records and previous FOX Chicago reporting.