Arkansas funeral home pleads guilty over stacked bodies

Ethics

The company that owns an Arkansas funeral home where bodies were found stacked on top of each other in unrefrigerated areas pleaded guilty Friday after felony charges were dropped against the father and son who own the business.
 
Arkansas Funeral Care pleaded guilty in Pulaski County Circuit Court to five felony counts of abuse of a corpse after 13 abuse of corpse charges were dismissed against LeRoy Wood and Rod Wood. The plea agreement finalized days before a trial scheduled for Monday also dropped eight corpse abuse charges against the Jacksonville funeral home.
   
The company faces up to $100,000 in fines during a sentencing hearing scheduled for May 19.

LeRoy Wood's attorney, Dustin McDaniel, said "none of it was on purpose" and his client "hopes the families of the loved ones who were involved in this know how deeply sad he is that any of this had happened."

"We are at the same time deeply gratified that the state has dropped the charges against them individually," McDaniel said.

The funeral home's license was suspended last year after the state licensing agency investigated complaints by a former employee and found a cooler "filled beyond capacity with bodies" and bodies "stacked on top of each other." Investigators removed 31 bodies and 22 cremated remains from the business.

Related listings

  • Supreme Court will take up case about juror's racial bias

    Supreme Court will take up case about juror's racial bias

    Ethics 04/02/2016

    The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether jurors' claims of racially charged comments by another juror can overcome the need for secrecy in jury deliberations. The justices will hear an appeal from a Hispanic man in Colorado who says he did n...

  • Supreme Court rejects states' challenge to Colorado pot law

    Supreme Court rejects states' challenge to Colorado pot law

    Ethics 03/17/2016

    The Supreme Court has rejected an effort by Nebraska and Oklahoma to have Colorado's pot legalization declared unconstitutional.   The justices are not commenting Monday in dismissing the lawsuit the states filed directly at the Supreme Court ag...

  • Georgia court: Immigrants can't sue state agency on tuition

    Georgia court: Immigrants can't sue state agency on tuition

    Ethics 02/01/2016

    Georgia's highest court on Monday ruled against a group of young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children and wanted access to in-state tuition at the state's colleges and universities. However, the court decision hinged not on their...

New Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.

Business News

New York Adoption and Family Law Attorneys Our attorneys have represented adoptive parents, birth parents, and adoption agencies. >> read