Ark. mortuary allegedly left bodies outside cooler
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The state suspended the license of an Arkansas funeral home director Wednesday after allegations that bodies were stacked up outside the cooler.
The Arkansas Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors voted unanimously to suspend the license of LeRoy Wood and Arkansas Funeral Care in Jacksonville.
An embalmer at the facility, Mike Jones, filed a complaint with the board alleging bodies were "stacked on top of each other outside the cooler." He also alleged other infractions including blood on the walls.
The state board received the official complaint Jan. 9, and launched an investigation.
Inspector Leslie Stokes, who visited the facility, said the mortuary's cooler held about 25 bodies, including one stacked atop another. One body outside the cooler was leaking fluids onto the floor.
Stokes said Wood had told her that business had been busier than usual in the past month.
Ed Snow, an embalmer at the facility, said the accusations are false the funeral home workers have "the utmost respect care and reverence for everyone's loved ones" they serve.
Jeff Smith, the president of the Arkansas Funeral Directors Association, said in a statement Wednesday that the "funeral professionals of Arkansas feel a great deal of sympathy for the families involved and our member funeral homes are ready to assist."
"It is important to understand that the vast majority of funeral homes in Arkansas are conducting business in the right way — with respect and honor for the deceased and the families," he said in the statement.
Contributing: The Associated Press
