A funeral dwelling director has pleaded responsible to theft after 31 decomposing our bodies and 17 units of cremated stays had been discovered on the location of his enterprise in Indiana.
Randy Lankford, proprietor of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville, confronted 43 counts of felony theft for failing to finish the funeral companies he was paid for.
Police started investigating the funeral dwelling in July 2022 after the county coroner’s workplace reported a robust odour emanating from the constructing.
The unrefrigerated our bodies had been present in varied states of decomposition and a few had been on the funeral dwelling since March that yr.
Authorities discovered that three of the power’s 4 air conditioners weren’t working
Bodies in physique baggage had been saved in several rooms and several other had been there for an “extended” time period.
Lankford is dealing with a number of lawsuits from folks whose family members had been among the many our bodies or cremated stays discovered at his funeral dwelling final July.
In a civil grievance filed final week, a pair mentioned Lankford despatched them a plastic field final June purporting to include their daughter’s stays.
The couple later discovered that their daughter hadn’t been cremated in any respect – she was among the many decomposing our bodies found at Lankford’s enterprise.
The swimsuit accuses Lankford of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional misery and breach of contract.
Derrick Kessinger, who had trusted Lankford with the our bodies of three family members whose cremated stays had been discovered contained in the funeral dwelling, attended Friday’s listening to.
“It’s been tough, but I do forgive him for what he did,” Mr Kessinger mentioned.
“I hope he can find forgiveness.”
Mr Kessinger finally acquired the cremated stays of his family members.
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Lankford pleaded responsible to 43 counts of theft the place the worth of the property is between $750 (£607) and $50,000 (£40,500), court docket data in Clark County present.
He faces a proposed sentence of 12 years – 4 of these in jail and eight of dwelling incarceration, Clark County Circuit Court Judge N. Lisa Glickfield mentioned.
Lankford should additionally pay restitution to 53 households totalling $46,000 (£37,259).
He was launched to dwelling incarceration following the listening to.
A proper sentencing listening to is deliberate for 23 June.
Source: information.sky.com”