Funeral home accused of giving parents dirt instead of ashes has done it before, lawyer says

A funeral home accused of sending dirt to a grieving family instead of their baby’s ashes is facing new allegations about mishandling other bodies.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden talked exclusively to the lawyer representing Alexus Taylor and Jalen Matthews, who received an urn full of dirt instead of the remains of their newborn son, Josiah.

He told Seiden that he’s aware of at least five other families who were lied to about their loved ones’ ashes.

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“I’ve done a lot of cases and for me as a parent, this is one of the most angry cases,” attorney Matt Wetherington said.

He says he is preparing to file a civil lawsuit against Stan Henderson and Sons Mortuary after he claims that the owner of the Henry County business lied to them.

Wetherington said that when he spoke to the crematory, he learned of several other families who had been tricked into thinking they were receiving the ashes of their deceased loved ones.

“Multiple other families who had the exact same experience, and there was still to this day, another person’s remains that were sitting there on the shelf waiting to be picked up,” he said.

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Since Tuesday, Seiden has been trying to speak with owner Stan Henderson, but he says he did not want to give his side of the story until he hired an attorney. On Thursday, Seiden called him several times and went to an address for him. He finally received a call back on Thursday afternoon.

Seiden also reached out to the crematory, but the owner declined to comment on camera. She did say that she tried reaching out to the funeral home on several occasions, but when she didn’t hear back, she began reaching out to the grieving families herself.

Wetherington says that funeral homes must provide a certificate of authenticity, which this couple did not get.

For several days, Seiden has also been reaching out to board members in charge of regulating the funeral industry, but no one has returned calls or emails.

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