WDSU Investigates has learned new details in our investigation into an evicted New Orleans funeral home.
A recently filed lawsuit alleges a mother’s body decomposed, as the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors confirms it is investigating Gary Lewis, owner of New Orleans Cremation Service Inc.
WDSU Investigates learned the suit was filed last Thursday and that Lewis has not been served.
The attorney for the family, Robert Daigre, issued the following statement to WDSU:
“What has happened to these families is absolutely horrific and came at a time when they are extremely vulnerable. We have filed a lawsuit on behalf of our client and feel that is best to not comment beyond the allegations in the lawsuit at this time.”
“We doing the right thing, we answering the phone, we getting back refunds, we paid back all the people we had,” Lewis said.
According to the lawsuit, Chanel Jones alleges her mother’s body was not embalmed or refrigerated in a timely manner before being transferred to the coroner.
Jones alleges she viewed her mother’s body and was “shocked and sickened” to discover fluids coming from it. She alleges the body had decomposed to the point that an open casket was no longer possible.
“Upon viewing her mother’s body in the advanced state of decomposition, Jones became emotionally distraught and physically nauseous,” the lawsuit alleges.
Gary Lewis, the owner of New Orleans Cremation Service Inc., responded to the allegations, stating, “We only had Darlene Carter for less than 72 hours. Darlene Carter did not pay no bill at our place. That man did not even come in to make arrangements. Darlene Carter was picked up by a removal service, brought into our care, and the family never came to our place for no visitation.”
Lewis also addressed the complaint filed with the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, saying, “We got a complaint to the board, and we responded to the complaint with the board that that body was not in our care but two to three days. The law says 72 hours embalm and or refrigeration. We had the largest mortuary cool in the city.”
The Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors issued the following statement:
“Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is currently investigating New Orleans Funeral and Cremation Service and its owner, Gary Lewis. Any consumer who believes they have been harmed by this funeral establishment should complete the Board’s Complaint Form, have it notarized, and submit it to the Board along with any supporting documentation they may have. Complaints may be submitted by email, fax, U.S. mail, or by hand-delivering them to the Board office.”
“Once the complaint and supporting documentation have been received, the Board will review the matter in accordance with its complaint investigation procedures.”
Lewis maintains he is doing what he can to fix the situation.
Other families have also come forward with concerns about the funeral home. Dionya James, who had been searching for her family’s ashes since May, received them the same day her story aired this month but still has questions.
“In the box are his ashes. No label, nothing,” James said.
Tiffany Coleman, who lost her mother to cancer in June, spoke to WDSU this month and said Lewis refunded her after her story aired.
“It’s very hard thinking about maybe I should have gone with what I thought was reasonable, but I didn’t have it to give,” Coleman said.
While the lawsuit alleges Lewis was represented as a licensed funeral director, he told WDSU Investigates in a phone conversation this month that he never acted as a funeral director. The state board continues to investigate the matter.
Lewis says he has helped the community by offering low prices.
The state complaint form is available at the following link here.
The Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors provided the following information regarding steps in the cremation process:
1. The deceased will be placed in a cremation container. The minimum requirement for a cremation container is that it be completely enclosed, rigid, leak-resistant, and combustible. You may select a cardboard or particle board container, rental casket, a wooden casket, or even a highly polished casket, provided it is combustible and non-toxic. Metal caskets cannot be cremated.
2. Facility staff will confirm the identity of the deceased by checking all paperwork. A cremation number or other identification (id) will be assigned. This number/id is often stamped onto a stainless steel disc, but may also be in the form of a barcode. The id/number is recorded on a cremation log. The stainless disc remains with the remains throughout their entire time at the cremation facility.
3. When it is time for the cremation of the deceased, they will be removed from the storage unit and their identification will be confirmed using paperwork and the stainless disc. The container will be taken to the cremator unit and placed on a table in front of the cremator door.
4. The door of the cremator will be opened, and the container will be placed inside the primary chamber. Usually this is performed manually with the aid of cardboard rollers or mechanically with a rolling conveyor loader. The stainless disc with number/id will be placed inside the cremator with the remains.
5. The door will be closed and the cremation monitored carefully until it is completed. The process can take anywhere from 30 minutes, as in the case of a stillborn, to over two hours depending on the body size and stored heat in the chamber.
6. When the cremation process is complete, the door will be opened and identification checked again against paperwork and the stainless disc. The bone fragments that remain, now called cremated remains, will be carefully swept out of the cremator into a cooling tray, allowed to cool and taken to a processor.
7. The processor is a machine that uses blades to pulverize the bone fragments until the remains are less than 1/8” in size.
8. The cremated remains are then transferred into a heavy-duty plastic bag, which is securely sealed with a zip tie and affixed with a stainless steel identification disc by a licensed crematory retort operator. The identification disc contains, at a minimum, the cremation identification number—which shall never be reused or assigned to any other decedent cremated by that crematory—and the name of the crematory. The sealed bag is then placed into the selected urn or, if the family has not yet chosen an urn, into a rigid temporary container. In accordance with Louisiana Revised Statute 37:879, the temporary container is clearly labeled, BY THE CREMATORY AND CREMATORY RETORT OPERATOR, with the name of the deceased, the name of the crematory authority, and the words “Temporary Container.” Before the cremated remains are released, all identifying information is verified with the crematory’s cremation log and official Authorization to Cremate documentation signed by the authorizing agent to ensure accuracy. The cremated remains are then returned to the funeral home or released directly to the family, as applicable, while maintaining the established chain of identification and custody throughout the entire cremation process.
READ MORE:New Orleans funeral home under investigation, lawsuit alleges mother’s body decomposed
