More lawsuits filed against Jeffersonville funeral home

Libby Cunningham, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·2 min read

Jul. 18—JEFFERSONVILLE — Three more families filed lawsuits Monday against Freedom Mortuary Services, Lankford Funeral Home and Randy Lankford.

The lawsuits come about two weeks after 31 bodies and 16 post-cremation remains were, according to police, found in various states of decomposition at the Jeffersonville funeral parlor at 3106 Middle Road.

Court documents regarding the cases were filed Monday in Clark Circuit Court No. 6 by Jeffersonville attorney Karl Truman. In all three cases, families are suing for negligence, fraud and breach of contract.

According to all three filings, the family members had presented the remains of their loved ones to be cremated. They are suing for punitive damages.

In the filings, under the negligence charge, the defendants are accused of failing to properly care for and account for the remains of the deceased.

The defendants are also accused of 'knowingly and intentionally presenting (plaintiffs) with ashes that were not their loved ones remains.'

The filings are the newest in a string of civil cases being brought against the funeral home.

No criminal charges had been filed as of Monday afternoon.

At least two other families have filed similar lawsuits against the defendants.

Earlier this month, Jeffersonville attorney Larry Wilder filed a lawsuit on behalf of Cynthia Faye Cook and Jeffrey Lorey, who believe that the funeral home mishandled their daughter's remains and lied about the status of the remains.

According to the filing, 34-year-old Nicole Lorey died June 14 in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and the Hardin County Coroner's Office referred her parents to Lankford Funeral Home.

The filing says the family requested the cremation of their daughter's remains, and the family contacted the funeral home multiple times and spoke with the owner, Randy Lankford, to ask about the status of their daughter's remains.

The filing said Lankford told the family that "Nicole's remains were being cared for and that the task of cremation was scheduled to take place and that the family would be notified."

According to the filing, the family was told by the defendant that the cremation took place, but the urn hadn't arrived yet so the remains couldn't be released.

The filing says the family "reasonably believes" that their daughter's remains were not cremated and were among the 30 other deceased individuals found at the funeral home.