Woman claims Detroit funeral home tried to deliver brother's cremated remains to her door

Perry Funeral Home denies involvement

DETROIT – A woman told Local 4 a man claiming to be from Perry Funeral Home, in Detroit, showed up at her door holding a bag he said contained the ashes of her brother.

Officials from Perry Funeral Home insist they weren't at the woman's door.

"I said, 'Don't you dare. You take that and you leave now,'" Jennie Bloodworth said.

Bloodworth said hours after police raided Perry on Friday, a man claiming to be from the funeral home pulled up to her house Saturday in a van marked "Perry."

She said the man came to her door with a bag in his hand.

"He held it up like this and said, 'These are Joe Wilson's remains,'" Bloodworth said. "I said, 'Get away from here. I don't want no ashes. I told you, I don't want no ashes.'"

Wilson died in 2016. Bloodworth said she worked with Perry Funeral Home to bury her brother.

Perry Funeral Home said their records show they had a "Johnny Wilson" connected to this family, and his remains were sent to another funeral home for services at the family's request.

Perry officials insist they weren't at her door, but Bloodworth said whoever it was tried to get into her home.

"He said, 'Do you have a phone I can use?'" Bloodworth said. "Can you believe he asked me to use the phone? I believe he was going to leave them here to say he delivered them."

Officials from the funeral home that accepted the remains from Perry said in nearly 70 years of business, they have never hand-delivered ashes to someone's house, which makes the case even more mysterious.

Case background

It's been 12 days since an anonymous tip led police to find the remains of infants and fetuses hidden in the ceiling of the shuttered Cantrell Funeral Home, in Detroit, but the former manager said investigators haven't contacted her.

Late in the day Friday, police raided the Perry Funeral Home and uncovered 63 corpses.

Officials said there's a wide-ranging investigation into funeral homes by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

READ Former Cantrell manager says investigators have not contacted her

Cantrell is where the entire investigation started. Last April, the state of Michigan shuttered the business, citing deplorable conditions, incompetence and gross negligence.

State inspectors discovered improperly stored bodies, including two in an advanced state of decomposition.

A task force -- made up of officials from the Detroit Police Department, the Michigan State Police and state investigators -- is digging into the documents that were confiscated during raids over the past week.


About the Authors:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.