A funeral house director has pleaded responsible to theft after 31 decomposing our bodies and 17 units of cremated stays have been discovered on the location of his enterprise in Indiana.
Randy Lankford, proprietor of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville, confronted 43 counts of felony theft for failing to finish the funeral companies he was paid for.
Police started investigating the funeral house in July 2022 after the county coroner’s workplace reported a powerful odour emanating from the constructing.
The unrefrigerated our bodies have been present in numerous states of decomposition and a few had been on the funeral house since March that yr.
Authorities discovered that three of the ability’s 4 air conditioners weren’t working
Bodies in physique baggage have been saved in numerous rooms and several other had been there for an “extended” time period.
Lankford is dealing with a number of lawsuits from individuals whose family members have been among the many our bodies or cremated stays discovered at his funeral house final July.
In a civil grievance filed final week, a pair stated Lankford despatched them a plastic field final June purporting to comprise their daughter’s stays.
The couple later discovered that their daughter hadn’t been cremated in any respect – she was among the many decomposing our bodies found at Lankford’s enterprise.
The swimsuit accuses Lankford of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional misery and breach of contract.
Derrick Kessinger, who had trusted Lankford with the our bodies of three family members whose cremated stays have been discovered contained in the funeral house, attended Friday’s listening to.
“It’s been tough, but I do forgive him for what he did,” Mr Kessinger stated.
“I hope he can find forgiveness.”
Mr Kessinger ultimately acquired the cremated stays of his family members.
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Lankford pleaded responsible to 43 counts of theft the place the worth of the property is between $750 (£607) and $50,000 (£40,500), court docket data in Clark County present.
He faces a proposed sentence of 12 years – 4 of these in jail and eight of house incarceration, Clark County Circuit Court Judge N. Lisa Glickfield stated.
Lankford should additionally pay restitution to 53 households totalling $46,000 (£37,259).
He was launched to house incarceration following the listening to.
A proper sentencing listening to is deliberate for 23 June.
Content Source: information.sky.com