Indiana police said they found 31 bodies inside a funeral home after receiving complaints of a foul odor coming from the facility.
Police discovered 31 bodies, some in "advanced stages of decomposition," inside an Indiana funeral home after receiving complaints of bad smells emanating from the facility, authorities said.
Jeffersonville Police Department Major Isaac Parker said officers "did smell a strong odor that was consistent with a decomposing body. If you walked inside the business itself, you'd understand this is abnormal for any funeral home,” Parker told WHAS-TV.
Parker said the owner of the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center has been cooperative and talking with investigators. No charges have been filed in the ongoing investigation.
Police released few details, saying it was early in the investigation, which began over the weekend.
Jeffersonville is a town of about 49,000 people in southern Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.
The cremated remains of 16 people were also found inside the mortuary, Parker said.
Tara Owens told the news station she sent the remains of her brother, Mike, to the funeral home after he died in April.
Owens said she requested the remains be cremated, but had not been able to reach the funeral home's owner since having her brother's body delivered to the mortuary.
After learning of the police investigation, Owens said she has been beside herself.
The bodies and cremated remains are now in the possession of the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
The website and social media accounts of the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center have been deactivated. Its business phone answers with a recording directing all callers to the coroner's office for assistance. The voice mail inbox was full and could not accept messages, the recording said.
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