Remains of 56 people found improperly stored and decomposing at Chicago
funeral home
[August 08, 2026]
By DAVE COLLINS and CYBELE MAYES-OSTERMAN
CHICAGO (AP) — The remains of 56 people were found improperly stored and
decomposing Thursday at a Chicago funeral home run by a couple who
previously operated a crematory that was similarly shut down because of
mishandled remains, authorities said.
Illinois state officials, meanwhile, suspended the license of one of the
funeral home's directors, alleging bodies were being kept in an
unrefrigerated area in “deplorable conditions."
The discovery came months after neighborhood residents began noticing a
“stench” emanating from the funeral home, which led some to complain to
the city.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said it was notified by state
and local officials that bodies were being stored improperly at South
Chicago Chapel, and investigators and forensic pathologists were
dispatched Thursday. The remains were in various states of
decomposition, officials said.
“Staff is assessing the conditions of the remains, searching for
documentation regarding identification of the decedents as well as death
certificates. This process could take several days to ensure proper
disposition,” the medical examiner's office said in a statement, adding
that family notifications will be made following the identifications.
Police said Friday that their preliminary statement on the case
incorrectly said that fire department officials declared the scene a
hazardous materials incident.
No arrests have been announced, but city police said detectives are
investigating.
Messages for the funeral home were left by phone and through its website
Friday.
Funeral home client, community advocate express dismay, frustration
Later Friday, a small number of residents and people seeking information
about their deceased loved ones gathered in front of the brick-walled
funeral home, which is on a South Chicago street lined with trees, homes
and businesses.
Latasha Johnson, 55, said her mother's funeral was held at South Chicago
Chapel on Thursday before authorities arrived and she later heard of
their gruesome discovery. She said authorities told her that her
mother's body would have to undergo an autopsy and she would have to
identify the remains in a day or two.
“I’m discombobulated,” she said. “My heart is broken.”
Blaise Von Bruchhaeuser, who described herself as a community advocate
for the neighborhood, said it was upsetting that complaints about a
terrible odor had been made for months before the decomposing bodies
were found.
State business records show that funeral director Johanna Morgan
incorporated South Chicago Chapel Inc. in 2022 and her funeral
director's license was temporarily suspended on Wednesday.
The state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the
license suspension was due to “a finding that Respondent’s continued
practice is a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare due to
Respondent allowing multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated
area with deplorable conditions including rodent infestation, causing
decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies.”
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Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities
discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home's
basement on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago
Sun-Times via AP)
The state business records also list Clark Morgan, who state
officials say is Johanna Morgan's husband, as the funeral home's
president. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
said Clark Morgan's funeral director license was revoked in 2024 for
practicing with an expired license and “unprofessional conduct” that
it did not specify.
Funeral home owners also ran crematory that was shut down by the
state
State Comptroller Susana Mendoza said Friday that Johanna and Clark
Morgan previously ran a crematory in Chicago Heights, south of
Chicago, which had its license revoked last year after authorities
discovered improperly stored bodies and hundreds of cremated remains
that had never been returned to their families.
“Horrified. Again,” Mendoza said in a statement. “The discovery of
decomposing remains waiting to be laid to rest this week at a South
Side funeral home is heartbreaking and an abomination. These are
people – someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, child or friend,
and they deserve better.”
Both Johanna and Clark Morgan are listed in Cook County court
records as defendants in connection with lawsuits involving Heights
Crematory in Chicago Heights, south of Chicago.
Messages were left Friday at phone listings for the Clarks and an
attorney listed in records as their business agent. Public records
indicate the Clarks live in the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park.
The case is the latest in a series of incidents involving mishandled
remains over the past three years.
Last month, police arrested two men in Pueblo, Colorado, for
allegedly mishandling at least two dozen decomposing bodies and
other remains found behind a hidden door in a funeral home.
That followed the discovery of 18 bodies in various stages of
decomposition at a funeral home in Georgia in 2024. In 2023, nearly
200 decomposing bodies were found in a building in Colorado, and
another 31 decomposing bodies were discovered at an Indiana funeral
home.
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