Investigations at the Heinz funeral home change hands

CARLINVILLE – The Macoupin County District Attorney is currently conducting an investigation to determine whether a Carlinville funeral home will face charges over allegations of improper handling of remains.

Heinz Funeral Home and its owner Albert Heinz are already facing a growing number of civil lawsuits following allegations that at least 80 families across the United States received the wrong remains from the funeral home.

In addition, Illinois State Police have been investigating for nearly a year into allegations that families were given cremated remains that did not belong to deceased family members. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon and several law enforcement agencies also said they found three improperly stored bodies in “an advanced stage of decomposition” at the funeral home.

Heinz’s funeral director and embalming licenses were revoked in October. Heinz Funeral Home was closed some time after the investigation began.

Macoupin County Prosecutor Jordan Garrison said the investigation was turned over to his office in mid- to late June to determine if and what crime was committed.

“Until we figure out what crime we’re actually going to charge, or whether we’re not going to charge, we’re not going to comment on our theory of the case,” he said.

In addition to the state investigation, Garrison said he was aware of several civil lawsuits against Heinz. In the months after the investigation into the funeral home became public, several people decided to file suit.

The law firms Carlson Law Firm of Texas and Craven & Craven and Sheehan & Sheehan of Springfield are representing several families in court against Heinz. Sheehan & Sheehan filed a lawsuit against him in December, and attorneys Patrick Sheehan, Donald Craven and Joseph Craven filed a petition on Aug. 22 requesting class-action status.

Joseph Craven said the lawsuit raises “several different theories of liability” against Heinz, his employees and the funeral home.

“All of these allegations revolve around the improper handling of the ashes and the false statements they made to all family members,” he said.

While the lawsuit promises compensation for those affected if Heinz is found guilty, Donald Craven noted that many families are more interested in “knowing whose ashes they have and what happened to their loved ones.”

That closure may be impossible for these families, he and Joseph Craven said.

“Coroner Allmon has filed an affidavit as part of our class action lawsuit stating that these families will likely never know whose ashes they actually possess,” said Joseph Craven.

A new law aims to prevent similar problems in the future by introducing additional regulations for funeral homes.

Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2643, the Integrity in Death Care Act, on August 9. The bill was introduced by Senator Doris Turner, Democrat of Decatur.

Effective January 1, funeral homes and crematoria are required to keep records of the storage of the deceased and to mark them with unique identification features. In addition, additional regulations for the handling and storage of human bodies must be observed.

The new law also requires the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to investigate complaints against funeral homes within 10 business days. After Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson filed a complaint against Heinz, the agency took no action for several months.

Turner is not the only state legislator seeking to introduce legislation against the improper handling of human remains. In February, Senator Steve McClure introduced Senate Bill 3623, which would make the improper handling of remains by “any person legally authorized to handle, transport, or store human remains” a Class 4 felony.

Senate Bill 3623 was referred for a vote in June.