Funeral director charged with abuse of corpse after decaying bodies found

PHILADELPHIA -- A West Philadelphia funeral home director has been charged after decomposing bodies were found inside the business, which police say was operating with an expired license.

Blair Hawkins is charged with three counts of abuse of corpse.

It all began with a tip call to State Investigators who found deplorable conditions at the Hawkins Funeral Parlor at 53rd and Vine.

They found it was operating without a license. Even worse, they found three bodies, one had been embalmed in a casket awaiting cremation, but two other bodies were found decomposing. One lying on a metal gurney, the other in a body bag.

Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Walker tells Action News, "One in the casket has been embalmed and apparently from what we're seeing at this point it has received services and they're just waiting for the cremation date for that particular body. The remaining two are not embalmed, and we only have one death certificate at this point for those two bodies."

In addition, those two bodies are past the point of when they should be embalmed.

"Bodies under state regulations have to be embalmed within 24 hours of arriving at a funeral parlor, if not they have to be refrigerated under 40 degrees, I can tell you there is no refrigeration here," Lt. Walker said.

Southwest Detectives working with the State Department say the funeral director has a license, but the funeral home does not.

Action News spoke with John Gaither Monday night who says he is the sole proprietor of the funeral home - which is currently operating as Hawkins Funeral Services, but used to operate under the name Gaither and Kimble Funeral Homes.

Gaither says he recently brought in Blair Hawkins as funeral director hoping to save the troubled business. He tells Action News he was out of town when all this developed.

"The rules and regulations are clear about how long a body is kept without refrigeration not embalmed. It's my understanding [Hawkins] did know that," Gaither said.

For his part, Hawkins tells police this is all a misunderstanding and that the body on the gurney was in the process of being embalmed. But he says he has no idea who the man in the body bag is or how he got there.

Gaither says he feels bad for the families of the bodies found in his place.

"They deserve an apology and a correction for the situation that currently exists," Gaither said.

Just last week, Philadelphia police responded to an unlicensed funeral parlor in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city. Police found three bodies rotting in boxes in a garage next to Powell Mortuary Services. Police say they were operating without a license since 2012.

Then days later another funeral home, Price Funeral Home in West Philadelphia, offered to give a proper burial for those bodies found in the garage. But it turns out Price Funeral Home was also operating without a license since 2012.

On Monday, detectives said it is the funeral home's job to make sure the dead are taken care of. Lt. Walker added, "If you pay a funeral director, that person is licensed by the state, I's regulated by the state, and you have a responsibility to care for the dead. You shouldn't cut corners in situations like this where you use the building you clearly know has been out of business for some time."

Police are still looking for death certificates for at least two of those bodies found.