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10th May 2022

11 bodies, including infants, found in US funeral home

Ellen Fitzpatrick

The home has since been shut down.

The bodies of 11 people, including the bodies of infants, have been discovered at a funeral home in the US after officials said they were left to rot.

Los Angeles City Attorney, Mike Feuer, said that the remains were “found in various stages of decay and mummification on two separate occasions over the past year.”

The funeral home was owned by Mark Allen and based in the Sun Valley neighbourhood of Los Angeles, but has since been closed down.

Allen is now facing 22 criminal charges and for each of the 11 bodies, being “charged with violating California Health and Safety Code sections.”

https://twitter.com/CityAttorneyLA/status/1521270549233618944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1521270549233618944%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishmirror.ie%2Fnews%2Fworld-news%2Fbodies-11-people-including-infants-26916714

This means he could be looking at a maximum sentence of 11 years and $10,000 per body in fines.

The bodies were discovered after authorities received several complaints from family members of those who had died.

The bodies were then discovered in a storage unit in April 2021, the New York Post reported.

Officials later observed a “swarm of flies buzzing around” the unit’s vent and said there was a “foul and overwhelmingly strong” smell of decay.

A petition to have the funeral home shut down was then filed by the state Cemetary and Funeral Bureau.

Feuer’s statement said: “We’re fighting to get justice for these families in this incredibly sad and shocking situation.

“11 people died, including very young children, and the funeral director hired to compassionately prepare the bodies for burial allegedly just let them rot, with neither the decency nor the dignity that all our loved ones deserve.

“Their deaths are one tragedy, and this alleged monstrous mistreatment is a second tragedy.”