Authorities say remains of 56 people found improperly stored at Chicago funeral home

The remains of 56 people were found improperly stored and decomposing Thursday at a Chicago funeral home run by a couple who previously operated a crematory that was similarly shut down because of mishandled remains, authorities said.

Illinois state officials, meanwhile, suspended the licence of one of the funeral home’s directors, alleging bodies were being kept in an unrefrigerated area in “deplorable conditions.”

The discovery came months after neighbourhood residents began noticing a “stench” emanating from the funeral home, which led some to complain to the city.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said it was notified by state and local officials that bodies were being stored improperly at South Chicago Chapel, and investigators and forensic pathologists were dispatched Thursday. The remains were in various states of decomposition, officials said.

“Staff is assessing the conditions of the remains, searching for documentation regarding identification of the decedents as well as death certificates. This process could take several days to ensure proper disposition,” the medical examiner’s office said in a statement, adding that family notifications will be made following the identifications.

Police said Friday that their preliminary statement on the case incorrectly said that fire department officials declared the scene a hazardous materials incident.

Under investigation

No arrests have been announced, but city police said detectives are investigating.

Messages for the funeral home were left by phone and through its website Friday.

Later Friday, a small number of residents and people seeking information about their deceased loved ones gathered in front of the brick-walled funeral home, which is on a South Chicago street lined with trees, homes and businesses.

Latasha Johnson, 55, said her mother’s funeral was held at South Chicago Chapel on Thursday before authorities arrived and she later heard of their gruesome discovery. She said authorities told her that her mother’s body would have to undergo an autopsy and she would have to identify the remains in a day or two.

“I’m discombobulated,” she said. “My heart is broken.”

Blaise Von Bruchhaeuser, who described herself as a community advocate for the neighbourhood, said it was upsetting that complaints about a terrible odour had been made for months before the decomposing bodies were found.

Incorporated in 2022

State business records show that funeral director Johanna Morgan incorporated South Chicago Chapel Inc. in 2022 and her funeral director’s licence was temporarily suspended on Wednesday.

The state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the licence suspension was due to “a finding that Respondent’s continued practice is a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare due to Respondent allowing multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated area with deplorable conditions including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies.”

The state business records also list Clark Morgan, who state officials say is Johanna Morgan’s husband, as the funeral home’s president. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said Clark Morgan’s funeral director licence was revoked in 2024 for practicing with an expired licence and “unprofessional conduct” that it did not specify.

State Comptroller Susana Mendoza said Friday that Johanna and Clark Morgan previously ran a crematory in Chicago Heights, south of Chicago, which had its licence revoked last year after authorities discovered improperly stored bodies and hundreds of cremated remains that had never been returned to their families.

“Horrified. Again,” Mendoza said in a statement. “The discovery of decomposing remains waiting to be laid to rest this week at a South Side funeral home is heartbreaking and an abomination. These are people — someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, child or friend, and they deserve better.”

Both Johanna and Clark Morgan are listed in Cook County court records as defendants in connection with lawsuits involving Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights, south of Chicago.

Messages were left Friday at phone listings for the Clarks and an attorney listed in records as their business agent.