Marion Graham Mortuaries funeral home director Elliot Maurice Graham, inset, is accused of giving families fake ashes and abandoned a mortuary with bodies inside the Jacksonville, Florida facility. He’s facing charges of grand theft and improper preservation of a human body charges. (Mug shot: Orange County Jail; Funeral home: Google Maps)
Investigators serving a search warrant at an abandoned funeral home in Jacksonville, Florida, found three bodies inside a mortuary, according to the state Department of Financial Services. A member of one of those families reportedly said what were supposed to be her grandmother’s ashes looked more like “chalk or ground kitty litter.”
Marion Graham Mortuaries funeral home director Elliot Maurice Graham, 49, also is accused of giving families fake ashes of their loved ones, said Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Graham is facing grand theft and improper preservation of a human body charges.
“We are going to do everything possible to put this guy behind bars for a very long time,” Patronis said in a press release. “Nothing is more important than family – and as our loved ones pass away – it’s always a difficult situation, and families are entrusting funeral directors to treat their loved ones with respect and dignity. These allegations indicate that this alleged criminal did the opposite. It appears he stole people’s money, doled out fake cremains, and abandoned a funeral home. We will aggressively pursue this former funeral home director and hold him accountable to the families he’s wronged.”
The investigation began after the Patronis’ office received a complaint about the funeral home. The office oversees funeral homes and mortuaries to ensure they are held to highest standards of respect and dignity when caring for the remains of the deceased.
Investigators arrived at the business on Thursday and the mortuary is “being treated as an official crime scene,” officials said. They issued a warrant for Graham’s arrest. He was taken into custody in Orlando on Friday, records show. He’s in the Orange County Jail awaiting extradition back to Jacksonville.
Marion Graham Mortuaries Funeral has been operating in the Jacksonville area since 1984. Local affiliate WJXT reported Graham took over the funeral home from his father, Marion Graham, upon his death in 2018. The TV station spoke with a family who received fake ashes.
Pauline Durden died six months ago, and Elliot Graham gave her family what appeared to be her ashes. But state investigator’s contacted the family last week to say the ashes are not hers and the body was found in the mortuary. Upon further examination, it appeared they were not human ashes at all. Durden’s granddaughter Johnesha Kemp said in an interview with WJXT they looked more like “chalk or ground kitty litter” to her.
Kemp said Graham was unprofessional in their dealings with him and he would always give her “the runaround.” She’s happy he’s been arrested.
“It gave us a little bit of closure, knowing that we now have my grandma. The person who did this horrendous act is now behind bars, and the process is getting moved and we can finally let it go and let her rest in peace — the way that she needed to and move forward to get over everything,” Kemp told the TV station.
Patronis said the incident remains under investigation and any other death services professionals involved could have their licenses revoked or face criminal charges.
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