A man was attacked by a funeral home staff after he made a video of the poor condition in which the mortuary kept corpses. The footage showed some decomposing dead bodies laid out openly on tables and in open caskets, and some having insects feasting on them, and the room where the bodies were kept had no working air conditioning.
The discovery was made in Richardson Mortuary, located on Brookfield Drive, southwest Houston, by Tamara McGruder and her brother who grew suspicious of the activity of the funeral home.
The duo had their late mother and uncle’s bodies with the mortuary but were uncertain where they were kept, according to ABC13.
They stormed the funeral home and met it under renovation and wide open without restriction. They entered inside and were shocked to find bodies laid out openly and the room smelling of rotting flesh because it had no working AC. Video below:
They found their mother’s corpse in a casket and she had gnats on her face.
While McGruder’s brother was still making the video, one of the workers confronted him and asked him to stop. He refused and during the melee that ensued, got stabbed in the stomach.
The worker told the police he acted in self-defense and no charge was brought up at this time.
The video was posted on social media and people that had someone in the mortuary came forward and demanded answers.
A woman said she saw the corpse of an elderly woman dressed in a suit that looked like the suit they had dressed her grandmother. Her fears were confirmed. Her grandmother was supposed to have been cremated last month and the grieving family had been waiting since then for her ashes.
The owner of the funeral home and mortuary was reported to be hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. The heart attack happened before the discovery was made.
Richardson Mortuary was forced to make arrangements for other funeral homes to collect the bodies.
The matter was escalated to the Texas Funeral Service Commission. Scott Bingaman, an executive of the commission said it was usual for bodies to be laid out on tables, however, he will be investigating the report of non-functional air conditioning and insect infestation from decomposition.
He also revealed that 14 complaints have been made against Richardson Mortuary in the last 10 years.
The Houston Police Department said they were also investigating the matter and that the funeral home owner might face possible criminal charges on abuse of corpse if found negligible.
