Latasha Johnson had given the eulogy and ended her mother’s funeral service at the South Chicago Chapel, 2939 E 95th St., Thursday afternoon when she and her family noticed their vehicles were blocked in by Chicago police.
Not long after, officers found dozens of decomposing bodies inside the funeral home.
“That startled me,” Johnson, 55, said. “I’m thinking maybe there’s something going on in the neighborhood, on the block, not thinking it’s something within this facility.”
Johnson was directed toward the home by her mom’s hospice care providers at University of Chicago Medicine. She now laments not doing her research on the chapel’s owners.
“I just lost my mom; they caught me at a weak point,” she said. “I trusted them with my mom’s remains. I paid them in full.”
Police, acting on a tip, went to the chapel Thursday after learning that bodies at the South Deering funeral home were not being stored at or below 40 degrees, as required by state regulations, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Officers were met by funeral director Clark Morgan, who accompanied them on a walk-through of the building, according to the report. During the walk-through, officers found 57 bodies in various areas of the funeral home. The bodies were not refrigerated and were in various stages of decomposition, according to the report.
Keith Allen Young’s family waited for hours Thursday for his body to be delivered to the church for his wake. But the body never arrived.
When relatives called South Chicago Chapel seeking answers about where their loved one’s body was, they said their calls were never returned.
“We are devastated,” said Stephanie Young, Keith Young’s older sister. “The goal is to put my brother to rest, and we have no answers from anybody.”
Keith Young died July 26. Stephanie Young said they sought the services of the funeral home because it was recommended by a friend. Now, they say they regret that decision.
Keith Young’s body was delivered to the funeral home Wednesday, the same day the business had its license revoked. The funeral home was supposed to prepare the body and have it delivered to a church Thursday, but it never arrived.
No one contacted them to let them know it wouldn’t show up, they said. Instead, they found out the funeral home was shut down on the news.
The funeral for Young, 48, was scheduled for Friday. Instead, the family went to the Cook County medical examiner’s office Friday morning to search for their loved one. They said they only want for Keith Young to be laid to rest.
In a Friday statement, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said the funeral home’s operators, Johanna and Clark Morgan, were already known by the comptroller’s office for their “egregious past practices while operating the Heights Crematory,” which was a similar situation in 2025.
The business’ license had been revoked Wednesday, according to the report. It was initially unclear why police didn’t visit the funeral home until the next day.
Mayor Brandon Johnson in a Friday statement said he was “horrified” by what was happening at the funeral home and said an investigation into the operation was ongoing.
“As this investigation continues, our hearts are with every family searching for answers,” he said. “We hope they receive the clarity they deserve, and the peace of mind of knowing their loved ones will be laid to rest with the dignity, care, and respect every person deserves.”
‘They need to never be opened again’
Outside the funeral home Friday, bodies were still being loaded into the back of vehicles to be taken to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. One neighbor teared up with her hand on her chest as she watched.
Lakina Staples said she initially had a positive experience with the funeral home for her aunt’s funeral last month, but was visibly emotional outside the home after finding out about the bodies.
“I was sick. I had to pull myself together,” Staples, 54, said. “I’m sick to my stomach knowing that it can possibly be my auntie in that crowd.”
Staples and her family still hasn’t received her aunt’s remains, despite paying the funeral home.
“They have collected a lot of money, not just from us, from everybody,” Staples said. “They need to be closed down; they need to never be opened again.”
An added painful indignity, Latasha Johnson noted, happened when she noticed that an obituary made for her mother by the funeral home featured AI-generated pictures of people she does not know.
“I had to tell my family and friends that came by, I don’t know these people [in the pictures],” she said.
Latasha Johnson said she hopes her mother and the families of others found in the home get justice.
“My mom’s body was here, but to think my mom’s body was piled on top of other decomposed bodies. That’s evil,” she said. “They need to go to jail immediately. Why are they not in jail?”
