Officials work outside South Chicago Chapel funeral home where dozens of bodies were found on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A Chicago funeral home is being investigated after 57 decomposing bodies were allegedly found inside. The bodies were reportedly discovered inside the South Chicago Chapel funeral home on Thursday, August 6.
The Cook County Medical Examiners Office was alerted that bodies were being stored improperly at the South Chicago Chapel funeral home at 2939 E. 95th Street, per NBC5 Chicago.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, investigators responded after learning that the bodies weren’t being stored as required by state regulation at 40 degrees or below.Investigators later found 57 decomposing bodies “in various states of decomposition,” inside. Not only that, some of the bodies weren’t refrigerated at all.
Funeral director Clark Morgan escorted the police during their initial visit, but he allegedly padlocked the facility after they left and tried to return later. The Chicago Fire Department reportedly helped investigators re-enter the building.
The businesss license was revoked on Wednesday, according to the police report.
“The MEO will work with authorities to identify these decedents as quickly as possible and notify their families,” a spokesperson for the Medical Examiner’s Office noted.
Additionally, residents described a “rotten sewer” smell that was “unbearable.”
“I was wondering what that smell was,” one man stated, per NBC5 Chicago. “I would smell like rotten sewer, and just a foul smell. It’s unbearable.”
One woman said her mother’s funeral was on July 18, and the home allegedly ignored her calls about her cremated remains.
“I just hope shes not in there, but something is telling me she is,” the woman allegedly told the Chicago Sun Times.
Funeral Director Was Previously Shut Down
Morgan is reportedly the same person who ran a crematory that was shut down after 100 bodies were found last year, according to ABC7 Chicago.
He allegedly ran the Chicago Heights crematory, where the bodies were discovered in trailers during an investigation. The decomposing bodies were reportedly found inside sheets and bags in trailers on the property. An investigation began after the Illinois Funeral Directors Association received a tip.
Another funeral home was investigated in Douglas, Georgia, after decomposing bodies were discovered inside in 2024. Chris Johnson, the owner of Johnsons Funeral Home & Cremation Services, was arrested after 18 decomposing bodies were reportedly found by the authorities.
Furthermore, the bodies of two pets were also found decomposing. Johnson was charged with 17 counts of abuse of a dead body.
