Detroit police removed 63 fetuses from a Detroit funeral home, as state inspectors shuttered the facility that is under investigation on allegations of mishandling remains and fraud, reports the Detroit News. Police raided Perry Funeral Home on Friday afternoon and found 36 fetuses in boxes and an additional 27 fetuses in freezers there, Police Chief James Craig said. “I’m stunned,” Craig said. “My team is stunned. God help those families.” The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) suspended the mortuary science licenses of Perry Funeral Home and its director Gary Deak. The decision to close the facility came after an inspection Friday which uncovered “an imminent threat to the public health and safety,” said LARA spokesman Jason Moon.
The grisly discovery is the latest development in a widening investigation into alleged improprieties at local funeral homes. Craig said law enforcement agencies are considering forming a task force to investigate the issue, specifically targeting improper storage of remains and fraud. As part of that probe, Detroit police raided another funeral home Friday. “This is larger than we might know,” Craig said. “These are allegations at this point, but it’s very, very disturbing. I’ve never seen anything like it in 41-and-a-half years (as a police officer).” Craig met with representatives from the state Attorney General’s Office, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI and LARA to discuss how to move forward with a criminal investigation into the Cantrell and Perry funeral homes.