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Funeral Home Accused Of Mixing Remains
POSTED: 2:30 pm MST September 19,
2007
UPDATED: 5:24 am MST September 20,
2007
PHOENIX -- A Phoenix-area funeral home is under investigation for allegedly cremating a person's body with remains of up to three other people.The State of Arizona said it can't even notify the families because no one seems to know who the parts belong to."Every human body deserves respect and dignity," said Rudy Thomas of the Arizona Board of Funeral Directors.It was Thomas' job to investigate after an anonymous letter to the state made bizarre and disturbing allegations.
The Greer Wilson Funeral Home is accused of adding three bags of body parts to be cremated with somebody else's body."That body is someone's loved one," Thomas said.Mixing remains like that is against the law."In short, we admit mistakes were made here," said attorney Rick Bryson.At a hearing, a lawyer for Greer Wilson said it happened in 2003. An unlabeled box, possibly from a hospital, was found in their cooler with three bags of organs inside."It was unknown where they came from," Bryson said."The only indication was the box had been there, no one knows for how long," Bryson said.CBS 5 confirmed from the state the organs in question were brains.The state said no one seems to know who the organs were from or who they were cremated with."Was it improper? Yes," Thomas said."It should not have been handled that way," he said.No one at the funeral home would answer questions.The lawyer said the two employees involved are "no longer with the company" and they've "instituted measures to ensure quality funeral services continue to be provided."Any discipline will likely be decided at a hearing next month.CBS 5 News checked to see if the practice is prevalent. The funeral board said it hears only about 25-30 complaint cases each year in the state.ELSEWHERE ON KPHO.COM: Yuma, Ariz., police said a woman whose nude body was found in her Yuma home by a family member last week was strangled to death during sex. CLICK HERE for details.
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