Evicted Funeral Home Leaves Bodies Behind

Cops find several decaying corpses in Texas building
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 16, 2014 2:37 AM CDT
Evicted Funeral Business Leaves Bodies Behind
Authorities remove bodies from the Johnson Family Mortuary in east Fort Worth, Texas yesterday.   (AP Photo/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ron Jenkins)

Police who found at least seven corpses in a building in Fort Worth, Texas, yesterday quickly determined there was no serial killer at work—but there were funeral directors who had apparently moved out with work unfinished. Police say the building's owner evicted the Johnson Family Mortuary two weeks ago and he discovered the bodies when he went to check on the building, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. The unattended bodies ranged in age from infants to adults and police say they were in "varying stages of decomposition, some quite advanced."

The twin brothers who ran the business could face charges of abuse of a corpse, but they insist it is all a misunderstanding. "We've done nothing wrong," one of the brothers tells the Dallas Morning News. "This is a funeral home. This is where we keep bodies." The electricity and air conditioning in the building were still on, but it did not have a refrigeration system. A spokesman for the Texas Funeral Service Commission says the mortuary's license expires this month, and the business already is the focus of five separate investigations. (More funeral home stories.)

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