Families waiting for justice in funeral home case
Sep. 27—SOUTHERN INDIANA — It's a waiting game for some people who used Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville for end-of-life services.
Derrick Kessinger still doesn't have the remains of his fiancé, even though it's been nearly three months since authorities raided the business on Middle Road.
Owner Randy Lankford is in the Clark County jail facing felony and criminal theft charges connected to the remains of loved ones belonging to three separate families, including Kessinger. This comes after police found 31 bodies in various states of decomposition, and the cremated remains of 17 people.
Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said more criminal charges are on the way. Lankford is also facing two separate civil trials. In each case he's accused of mishandling remains, including giving customers the wrong ashes.
For Kessinger, being embroiled in the case has been difficult for his family, including his young sons Dayton and Easton. He's speaking out because he wants to help others who are going through the same emotional, physical and financial stress.
"It's made it so hard. Just asking people for help is hard," Kessinger said. "So to have all the people I've had help throughout this I've been so grateful, especially the people I've met through the process that have helped so much."
He turned to Lankford and his funeral home to help after the death of his father, Mickey Kessinger, his father-in-law Richard Barton, and his fiancé, Aierell Barton, because the prices were low.
"After my father's funeral it was kind of a no-brainer to kind of use Lankford funeral home because we were just there," Kessinger said.
His fiancé, Aeriell, was shot and killed this past May at a home near Churchill Downs in Louisville. No charges have been filed in her death and Louisville homicide detectives are still investigating the case.
Kessinger said she spoke to Lankford herself before she died.
"She told him everything, her life story and how she wanted her funeral to be. That's another reason we wanted to use him," he said. "She had just told him everything she wanted when she passed, then she passed the next the day."
Almost nothing seemed out of place at the funeral home, but Kessinger said he did notice a bad odor.
"I would've never thought there was bodies decomposing in the back. This is not something people deal with every day, having to call funeral homes and that," Kessinger said. "That thought never crossed my mind he would do something like this. It's like when we go to a doctor's office we have a certain amount of trust for them and what they tell us and what they do. I never thought anything you know, especially with the ashes. I never would've thought he'd give us someone else's ashes."
According to the court records, the felony charges said Lankford "did knowingly or intentionally exert unauthorized control over the property" of the cremated remains of three people, including Aeriell, "with the intent to deprive (family members) of any part or the use or value of the property, said property of having a value of at least $750 and less than the value of $50,000."
The misdemeanor charges are connected to the felony charges and allege Lankford "exerted unauthorized control" over the remains of three of the people in his care or the money given to him for the cremated remains with the intent to deprive the victims of any part of use or value of the property.
"The charges were pretty minor I think, and I talked to another one of the family members and I know she was pretty upset as well," Kessinger said. "So was my brother, so just a level 6 felony. We all agree they should be federal charges for each body they found and all the ashes."
According to Indiana law the state's abuse of a corpse statute doesn't apply to a funeral director or embalmer. It does apply to a person who knowingly or intentionally mutilates a corpse, has sexual intercourse or sexual deviant conduct with a corpse or opens a casket with the intent to commit one of those acts.
Larry Wilder, who represents Kessinger and other families involved in a civil class action lawsuit against Lankford, said after Lankford's first criminal hearing that this case is hard to prosecute criminally and likely only theft or fraud types of charges would apply.
"If you read the abuse of corpse statute and read what it says an abuse of corpse is, it would be difficult to argue, beyond a reason of doubt, what happened fits into that," Wilder said. "And there's a certain degree of immunity that goes along with the job he has because he was a licensed funeral director. In Indiana we aren't equipped for this kind of horrible thing to happen."
As Kessinger waits for justice, he said he also has to find time to travel from his home in Mount Washington, Kentucky to Jeffersonville, while raising his 6-year-old and 9-month-old sons on his own.
"It's been tough just getting paperwork from all these places and having to call these people is very overwhelming," he said.
He said he's grateful other people have stepped in to help, because he's lost five loved ones in total this year. Aeriell's mom, Cam Barton, died in July. Kessinger's mom, Devonna Blair, died in June.
"(I've lost) five people. It's traumatized me, it really has," he said.
Despite the pain, Kessinger keeps pushing. He said he hopes Lankford shows remorse for what families like his are going through.
"He's had plenty of opportunities to apologize," Kessinger said. "I don't want to say I wouldn't forgive him, because people make mistakes, but it's going to be hard."
