While the details sound similar to the recent discovery at South Chicago Chapel, this case was in 2012.
The Carter Funeral Chapel tragedy raised questions about whether state oversight failures led to deplorable conditions and neglect at a Chicago funeral home; the same questions now being raised more than a decade later with South Chicago Chapel.
A potential class-action lawsuit has been filed in Cook County Court after more than 50 decomposed bodies were discovered inside South Chicago Chapel on 95th Street on Chicago's southeast side. Chicago police tell the ABC7 I-Team an investigation is ongoing.
After reviewing state license and court records, the I-Team found what happened in 2012 could shed light on potential measures of accountability for funeral home directors accused of mishandling remains, as the similarities between both examples are striking.
'Horrific' discovery in 2012
The "horrific" discovery at Carter Funeral Chapel in 2012 happened by accident.
It was Feb. 20, 2012, when Chicago police responded to the funeral home on 75th Street for a report of a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot, only to find a back door of the funeral home left open.
Suspecting a burglary, officers walked in and what they found was a facility "in disarray, with no heat and no electricity," according to ABC7 reports at the time. The funeral home had been without power for nearly four months, and officers discovered nine human bodies mishandled, including two improperly stored in a garage.
Carter Funeral Chapel employees told ABC7 at the time that they had tried to raise alarms about code violations, but those concerns fell on deaf ears.
"It's been horrific," customer Julia Bailey told ABC7. Bailey's father's ashes were missing for months. "Sleepless nights. No answers."
One of the owners of the funeral home, Harry Carter III, had been operating for four years without a license after it was indefinitely suspended for numerous violations, including "untrustworthiness, embalming without prior consent and unprofessional conduct," according to court records.
A year after mishandled remains were discovered, and Carter Funeral Chapel was shut down by inspectors, the owners faced some accountability.
Owner Harry Carter III was arrested on March 10, 2013, and prosecutors charged him with "operating without a license." He eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, and fines adding up to less than $300.
Another owner of the Carter Funeral Chapel, Deborah Carter, was never charged, even though she was also operating without a license, and state officials later determined she had an ownership stake in the business. Court records show she changed her name after the 2012 discovery.
The steepest accountability for Carter Funeral Chapel came in the form of state-imposed fines.
The Illinois Attorney General's office filed a permanent injunction against Carter Funeral Chapel on March 15, 2012, to prevent it from reopening, functioning, or collecting money for funeral services.
The injunction led to a default judgment, and a judge ordered that the business' accounts be placed into a receivership for a year. Owners Harry and Deborah Carter were fined more than $70,000, according to court records.
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South Chicago Chapel similarities
The discovery this month at South Chicago Chapel has raised serious questions about what's been done in more than a decade to prevent another funeral home fiasco.
State records show Clark Morgan's funeral director license was revoked in 2024, and Johanna Morgan's license had previously been reprimanded.
A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) declined the I-Team's request for an interview, but in a written statement, it said it had "had initiated formal disciplinary proceedings against Johanna Morgan in October 2025," and that it is currently "seeking permanent license revocation" but could not comment further.
The IDFPR oversees funeral home businesses and says it is a "complaint driven agency" and "inspections of [funeral home] premises are conducted when there is a serious complaint."
The state does not regularly inspect funeral homes.
According to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, state entities in charge of licensing the Morgans did everything right, but says state laws could be improved.
"Every aspect of state law that I have now seen has been followed by our IDFPR, the professional responsibility agency, and by the way, it appears by the comptroller's office as well," Pritzker said. "You can imagine how many funeral homes there are in the state that would need to get inspected year in and year out."
The IDFPR told the I-Team it took swift action to revoke Johanna Morgan's funeral director license after the decomposing bodies were discovered this month, and that "A person can own a funeral home without a license," but "that individual cannot engage in any activity requiring a license."
"I understand the desire to try to find someone to blame here," Pritzker said on Monday. "The people to blame are the people who actually were running these facilities."