Inset: Stan Henderson (Adel Police). Background: Illegal funeral home Henderson allegedly ran out of a former bank building in Adel, Georgia (Google Maps).
A Georgia funeral home director facing a lawsuit for allegedly giving a couple an urn full of dirt instead of their dead child”s ashes is now staring at criminal charges in a separate manner.
Stan Henderson, 55, stands accused of two counts of computer pornography, child molestation and two counts of aggravated sexual battery, the Adel Police Department said in a press release. Henderson is also facing two counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes and trafficking persons for labor or sexual servitude, both felonies, along with engaging in a funeral business without a license, which is a misdemeanor.
Cops began investigating in June after receiving a tip that Henderson was running a funeral home out of a former bank building without a license. But detectives allegedly discovered something much more nefarious.
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A forensic review of electronic devices recovered at the funeral home allegedly “uncovered several pornographic images and videos of an underage male on a device.” Police did not elaborate on the other allegations.
“This case was very complex and was put together with the help of many dedicated agencies and individuals,” Adel police Chief Audie Rowe said in the press release.
Last year, Law&Crime reported about a lawsuit filed by Henderson parents Alexus Taylor and Jalen Matthews of Valdosta. The lawsuit, filed in civil court in Henry County, remains ongoing, according to court records.
The couple’s child, Josiah, was born in October 2023 and died about a month later. The boy received various medical treatments at Emory University Hospital after being born with Trisomy 18, a rare and fatal genetic condition.
The couple and their attorney told Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB that they chose to have the child cremated because they wanted to “bring him home” after spending their time in a hospital, knowing “most likely we (would) never get to bring him there,” Taylor said.
When they hired Stan Henderson & Son funeral home in Stockbridge to complete their child’s cremation, they alleged that it took more than four months before they received the urn meant to contain Josiah’s remains. When they finally opened it, they discovered it was filled with something else.
“It does look like some soil that’s in there mixed with some other things,” Taylor said.
The plaintiffs allege the funeral home defrauded them deliberately. Henderson steadfastly denied the allegations to WSB and called them lies. The TV station reported in January that Henderson’s attorneys claim the urn was filled not with dirt, but someone else’s ashes. Georgia’s Attorney General’s Office is also investigating the funeral home.
It’s unclear if Henderson has obtained an attorney for his criminal case.
Brandi Buchman contributed to this report
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