Charges filed over Jeffersonville funeral home where 31 decomposing bodies were found
Criminal charges have been filed against a Jeffersonville funeral home director nearly two months after 31 decomposing bodies and 17 cremated remains were found in his facility.
The charges, which were filed Tuesday on behalf of the families of the deceased Mark Price Sr., Larry Williams Jr. and Aeriell Barton, include three counts of level-six felony theft and three counts of class A misdemeanor theft. The charges were filed against Randy Lankford, owner of the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center, and are related to the mishandling of the remains at the funeral home.
An attorney for Lankford was not listed on the Indiana courts website, and an email seeking comment from Lankford sent Wednesday afternoon was unable to be delivered.
Jeffersonville Police began investigating the funeral home in early July, finding 31 decomposing bodies and an additional 17 cremated remains on site. The remains were turned over to the Clark County Coroner's Office, police said at the time.
Background:Funeral home investigation: What to know about the discovery of 31 bodies in Jeffersonville
Several civil lawsuits have since been filed against the director, accusing him of mishandling the bodies while working as the director of the funeral home, and Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull had previously said he was waiting on reports from all investigating agencies before determining whether to file criminal charges.
The unrefrigerated bodies were in various states of decomposition when they were found, with police alleging the longest had been stored at the facility since March. In a filing to suspend Lankford Funeral Home's license, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said three out of the four air-conditioning units on site were not functional.
Mull and the Clark County Prosecutor's Office did not immediately respond to a Courier Journal request for comment.
Larry Wilder, an attorney representing some of the families involved in civil cases, told The Courier Journal that several people had been hurt by what took place at the funeral home. He was "very disappointed if this is all the prosecutor intends to charge him with," he said, as the charges filed are the "lowest" felonies in Indiana, with a maximum penalty of two-and-a-half years in prison and a minumum penalty of no jail time.
"There are a multitude of families that have been damaged by Lankford," Wilder said. "I do not understand why these were the only charges filed."
Lankford's misdemeanor theft charge would lead to no jail time and a $10,000 fine, according to Wilder.
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Mull will be working as one of the state prosecutors in the case against Lankford, according to court records. Wilder said Mull is "capable, and certainly willing to pursue tough criminal cases."
Still, Wilder said he's confident the charges put forward this week are only the beginning, as charges were only filed over three of the 31 bodies.
"It would seem clear to me that there are 28 other individuals' remains that were left unattended to," he said. "I cannot imagine that this is the end of the investigation."
While criminal charges are being filed against Lankford, Wilder added that he and a number of families are "vehemently" filing civil cases against the funeral home director.
"Money cannot be the only justice these families receive," he said.
This story will be updated.
Contact Caleb Stultz at cstultz@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Caleb_Stultz.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Lankford Funeral Home: Criminal charges in over 31 decomposing bodies
