SANGAMON COUNTY, Ill. (WAND) - Illinois State Police are now involved in the investigation into Heinz Funeral Home/Family Care Cremations in Carlinville.
Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 6 and Zone 4 are involved. ISP said no additional information will be released due to the investigation being active and ongoing.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations revoked the license of August Heinz of Heinz Funeral Home / Family Care Cremations.
On Monday, September 25, the Sangamon County Coroner began investigating Heinz Funeral Home/Family Care Cremations after learning a deceased woman had been left in a hospital morgue for almost a month.
Coroner Jim Allmon said the family had assurance from Heinz Funeral Home that their loved one had been picked up, cremated, and cremains were provided to the family.
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Other complaints filed led the Coroner's Office to respond to the funeral home on September 28, where it discovered the remains of three people in an advanced state of decomposition.
The bodies were removed from the funeral home, taken back to Sangamon County, and were properly identified by Coroner Allmon. All three were Sangamon County residents who had died in Sangamon County the month prior.
The Coroner's Office said it will continue to work with families to return their loved ones to them.
Since the start of the investigation, the Coroner's Office has removed or recovered over 40 sets of cremains from Heinz Funeral Home, some of which were not labeled at all.
Allmon wrote in a statement:
"The Sangamon County Coroner supports this decision and will refer any questions about any criminal culpability to the law enforcement agencies investigating this matter."
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