Investigation continues into Detroit funeral homes mishandling human remains

DETROIT – The investigation into multiple Detroit funeral homes continues into its second week after the remains of 63 infants and fetuses were found at Perry Funeral Home.

The discovery comes days after remains were found at Cantrell Funeral Home, only 5 miles away.

The number of families concerned their infants’ remains were desecrated continues to grow.

"I want to know if my baby was one of the babies that were found," said Micah Compton.

On Sunday, the attorney for the Perry Funeral Home released a new statement:

We are cooperating with the authorities and we spoke with them Friday night. We anticipate we will have another sit down with the authorities next week. We are answering their questions and we have explained the situation to them.

On Oct. 12, Detroit police got an anonymous tip about Cantrell Funeral Home, leading to investigators finding the remains of 11 fetuses and infants hidden in the ceiling. 

Days later, police were notified about a civil lawsuit against Perry Funeral Home, Wayne State and others.

It’s alleged Perry told state regulators that the remains were buried at a cemetery and billed Medicaid. 
In addition, it’s alleged Perry checked large numbers of remains into a cooler at Wayne State's Center for Mortuary Science. 

"Once a funeral home takes a dead body in its possession, they have to make efforts, reasonable efforts to notify the family," said attorney Peter Parks. "They made none. They relied on the hospital having done so."

The Detroit police are collaborating with state regulators and the FBI for the investigation.

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About the Authors:

Priya joined WDIV-Local 4 in 2013 as a reporter and fill-in anchor. Education: B.A. in Communications/Post Grad in Advanced Journalism