56 Bodies Found Decomposing at Chicago Funeral Home

The remains of 56 people were found improperly stored and decomposing at a Chicago funeral home, authorities said, triggering an investigation into operators with a documented history of mishandling human remains. The discovery at South Chicago Chapel in the city’s South Deering neighborhood came after police received a tip that bodies were not being stored at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, as required by state regulations, according to AP News.

The Discovery

Officers arrived at the funeral home at 2939 E. 95th St. on Thursday and were met by funeral director Clark Morgan, who accompanied them on a walk-through of the building. Inside, they found dozens of bodies in various areas of the facility — unrefrigerated and in various states of decomposition, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. Some bodies were crammed into closets and in a nearby garage.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation cited “deplorable conditions including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies.” The department had temporarily suspended Johanna Morgan’s funeral director and embalmer’s license the day before the discovery, and the business’s license was also revoked.

Neighbors reported a foul smell emanating from the funeral home for months, with some saying it started during the winter. Several neighbors told the Sun-Times they reported the odor to law enforcement approximately six months before the discovery. One neighbor described it as “a rotting smell… like an animal that was dead.”

A Troubling History

The Morgans were already known to state regulators. In 2025, the Illinois Comptroller’s Office permanently shut down Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights after investigators found improperly stored bodies and hundreds of cremated remains that had never been returned to their families. Nearly two dozen lawsuits were filed against the Morgans in the wake of that investigation, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza called the latest discovery “heartbreaking and an abomination.” “These are people — someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, child or friend, and they deserve better,” she said in a statement. Mendoza noted that many of the bodies at Heights Crematory were “stacked on top of each other, not refrigerated and partially exposed.” “To hear these same operators are doing the same thing again at South Chicago Chapel Funeral Home is infuriating.”

Clark Morgan’s funeral director and embalmer intern license was revoked in April 2024 for practicing with an expired license and unprofessional conduct. He was fined $10,000. Johanna Morgan’s license was reprimanded in 2024 and she was fined $5,000 for failing to complete three records in 2020.

Regulatory Gaps Exposed

A key issue highlighted by this case is Illinois’ split regulatory structure for death care services. Funeral homes are regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, while crematories fall under the Illinois Comptroller’s Office. This fragmented system allowed the Morgans to have their crematory shut down but continue operating a funeral home, as reported by NBC Chicago.

Mendoza has called for a single state agency to regulate both funeral homes and crematories. “We could prevent this from happening,” she said. “I think more so in the future, if both of these institutions were regulated by one entity instead of multiple places.” A new law giving the Comptroller’s Office more investigatory authority over crematories will take effect January 1, 2027.

Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison said he plans to request a comprehensive briefing from the medical examiner’s office and will ask state regulators for a timeline of complaints, inspections, and disciplinary actions. “If our current laws allow someone associated with a death care operation that has been shut down for serious misconduct to simply continue operating another establishment handling human remains without enhanced inspection and oversight, then the law needs to change,” Morrison said.

Families Demand Answers

The discovery has devastated families in the South Deering neighborhood. Latasha Johnson, 55, whose mother’s funeral was held at South Chicago Chapel on Thursday before authorities arrived, said she was told her mother’s body would need an autopsy. “I’m discombobulated,” she said. “My heart is broken.” Johnson told WBEZ that she had paid the funeral home in full for her mother’s services.

Keith Allen Young’s family experienced a particularly painful ordeal. Young, 48, died July 26, and his body was delivered to South Chicago Chapel on August 5 — the same day the business’s license was revoked. The funeral home was supposed to deliver his body to a church for his wake on Thursday, but it never arrived. His sister, Stephanie Young, said the family learned through the media that the funeral home had been shut down. “We are devastated,” she said. “The goal is to put my brother to rest, and we have no answers from anybody.” His body was eventually identified and released to his family on Saturday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

A Second Facility Shut Down

The investigation has expanded beyond South Chicago Chapel. Bohemian National Cemetery and Crematorium has been ordered to stop accepting human remains after investigators found 35 individuals’ remains being housed there with multiple equipment failures and some remains not maintained at proper temperature, according to NBC Chicago. The remains have since been cremated and returned to families. Sources with the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office also said dozens of boxes of cremated remains were uncovered at South Chicago Chapel, with the office holding more than 50 boxes of ashes as a courtesy for Chicago police, as reported by CBS News Chicago.

A Disturbing National Pattern

The Chicago case is part of a broader pattern of mishandled remains at funeral homes across the country. Last month, police arrested two men in Pueblo, Colorado, for allegedly mishandling at least two dozen decomposing bodies found behind a hidden door in a funeral home. In 2024, 18 bodies were found in various stages of decomposition at a funeral home in Georgia. In 2023, nearly 200 decomposing bodies were found in a building in Colorado, and 31 decomposing bodies were discovered at an Indiana funeral home.

What’s Next

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office is working to identify all 56 decedents and notify their families. The office said it will provide cremation at no cost to families who choose that option. No arrests have been announced, but Chicago police detectives are investigating. The medical examiner’s office said additional information on identifications was expected Monday morning.

Mayor Brandon Johnson called the reports “deeply disturbing.” “Families entrusted this funeral home with the care of their loved ones during one of the most difficult moments of their lives,” he said. “That trust appears to have been profoundly violated. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity in life and in death, and every family deserves compassion, transparency, and respect as they grieve.”

As the investigation continues, families wait for answers, and state officials face renewed pressure to close the regulatory gaps that allowed this tragedy to unfold. As Mendoza put it, “I don’t know how there’s not like a microscope on this entity. The Morgans literally run a house of horrors in their businesses.”