The bodies of four people were found at a house, two weeks after the death of a man who reportedly conducted mortuary services in his home in Riverdale, Illinois.
Anton Godfrey was 43 when he died August 29, 2015.
“Godfrey was the subject of multiple court orders to cease and desist his in-home mortuary practices,” said a statement from Illinois State Police. State records showed Godfrey was fined $10,000 in August 2013 for operating as a funeral director and embalmer without a license.
Family members reportedly found the bodies of four people, and a possible container of human remains, in Godfrey’s home Wednesday, September 9, 2015. State police were sent to the home at about 7:30 p.m. that evening.
Investigators said they found the remains of “four bodies in various stages of decomposition.”
“The preliminary investigation indicates that the homeowner, Anton Godfrey…was improperly storing bodies in his home garage which were prepared for burial,” the state police statement said.
Headstones for two women, buried in 2009 and 2013, were also found at the home, according to WGN-TV.
Neighbors said they did not smell or suspect any odor from the garage, because there is a factory nearby that gives off fumes, according to ABC7 in Chicago.
Police said autopsies were being conducted on the four bodies found at Godfrey’s home. Police said the bodies were later identified, and that a box of cremation ashes found at Godfrey’s home were also identified. Next of kin were notified after the identifications were made.
