Can you bury your dad in your backyard in Missouri or Kansas? What state laws say
With the right permissions, your yard could become a home cemetery in Missouri or Kansas.
A recent case of a woman arrested in Kansas City and alleged to have buried her father’s body in a backyard at a Nevada home has some wondering whether such a practice is legal in the metro area.
In Missouri, it’s a little complicated — residents need permission from their county to designate a portion of their property as a family burying ground. They also need to report the location of any bodies they bury.
But in Kansas, laws are more lax: While digging up a body is restricted, burying one is not — and you don’t have to tell authorities where the body is.
Here’s a closer look at these laws in both states.
What Missouri law says about burying bodies
It depends on the county’s laws.
A Missouri statute says, “Any person desirous of securing family burying ground or cemetery on his or her lands, may convey to the county commission of the county in which the land lies any quantity of land not exceeding one acre, in trust for the purpose above mentioned, the deed for which to be recorded within sixty days after the conveyance.”
However, a Missouri statute condemns anyone who “abandons, disposes, deserts or leaves a corpse without properly reporting the location of the body,” with a penalty that can carry four years of imprisonment or one year in jail depending on the case.
A fine of $10,000 may also be imposed, Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, told The Star in March.
A Kansas City ordinance requires residents to report a death to the director of health and file a certificate within three days.
What Kansas law says about home burials
In Kansas, laws dictating how a person should deal with a dead body are less restrictive.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe told The Star in March burying a family member in the backyard or leaving them in the home without alerting authorities is not a criminal offense.
Howe said these laws are likely open-ended to not impose on a person’s religious and personal convictions of how a body should be taken care of after death.
Howe said Kansas has a desecration statute that seeks to stop bodies from being damaged or disturbed, with varying penalties depending on the amount of harm done.
The law does not outline how a person should care for their deceased or where they should report the incident if they die of natural causes.
The Star’s Natalie Wallington contributed.
Do you have more questions about Kansas or Missouri state laws? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
