Grieving families in Florida were upset to learn that a local funeral director mishandled their loved ones’ ashes.
Elliott Maurice Graham, a 49-year-old overseeing Marion Graham Mortuaries, was arrested and charged with improper preservation of a human body and grand theft. For Pauline Durden’s family, a recent discovery made by state investigators during their investigation “was heartbreaking,” WJXT reported.
They learned that Durden’s body was still in the mortuary, meaning they never received Durden’s ashes after she supposedly was cremated last year. Officials plan to test the ashes to figure out what it is. Her granddaughter, Johnesha Kemp, likened the ashes to “chalk or kitty litter,” according to the report.
“It’s been tough trying to heal. And just when you think you get to a point where it’s like, he’s starting to feel a little bit better. It’s the wound that’s been reopened,” Nairobia Durden, her other granddaughter, told the outlet. “I did have jewelry that I opened now knowing that it wasn’t a human body in it, and it doesn’t look like ashes.”
Marion Graham Mortuaries is located in Jacksonville and promises clients outstanding service “while demonstrating deep compassion for our bereaved families.” However, many other families have publicly complained about their experience and pointed out Graham’s unprofessionalism.
Takenya Sutton and Danielle Streater accused the business of not embalming their cousin’s body properly, according to First Coast News.
“We were barely able to have a wake. The family viewed the body briefly. From there, we had to close it off for the public because the smell was horrible,” Streater explained.
Per the outlet, state officials are working to give Graham a lengthy sentence, which has been a step in the right direction for those impacted. Durden’s family has since received the correct ashes.
“It gave us a little bit of closure, knowing that we now have my grandma. The person who did this horrendous act is now behind bars, and the process is getting moved, and we can finally let it go and let her rest in peace — the way that she needed to and move forward to get over everything,” Kemp said to WJXT.
