Entrance to National Memorial Park -Grounds where National Funeral Home and SCI Central Embalming facility are located.(7400 Lee Highway Falls Church, VA)
The County prosecutor in Fairfax County,VA is now involved National Funeral Home’s (SCI) Scandal. If what is stated as true it is very close to a felony. It all points to criminal activity under Virginia Law and the Prosecutor will decided if charges will be brought.
Service Corporation International, SCI is the world’s largest funeral corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas.
This is the scenario as presented by the The Washington Post Article and Video.April 5th, 2009
“The body of Maj. Richard Morgan was left from November to February in a light oak coffin in the garage at SCI’s central care facility, located in the same building as National Funeral Home, according to current and former employees who saw the coffin and the body inside.”
First I would say if I was a funeral director, embalmer or employee at that site I would have been placing the Major back in the cooler continuously. Before taking pictures I would have had a log of dates and times that Major Richard Morgan went back in the cooler. That is how “Your Funeral Guy” would have handled his obligations to the major. I would not care if it was insubordination. This is fact, I was not there.
If what is stated is true it appears the Major was defiled. It is the County prosecutors job to figure out how to proceed. I did say “Not my Job” but I will be watching with great interest. I used to work at several funeral homes in Fairfax, County.
More from the Washington Post on April 7th:
Richard Morgan Jr., a Harrisonburg, Va., criminal defense attorney……said his father’s body was “defiled” because it was left to rot on a garage rack, a possible felony under a Virginia law regulating the treatment of corpses….an SCI official contacted him over the weekend and denied the allegations” and Morgan said the SCI official agreed to refund
National Funeral Home is a short drive from the Nations Capitol
the $14,111.65 the family paid for funeral services.
If the Va attorney, the deceased son, accepts the Service Corporation refund for the funeral services he may fore go a civil complaint.
Matthew Sargent at Artco Casket Company reminded everyone that this is not the norm in the funeral industry. This event is the exception not the rule for Northern Virginia Funeral Homes and Funeral Homes across the USA.
It should be noted that the actions of SCI National Funeral Home’s central embalming facility are unacceptable in the funeral profession. This embalming scandal is of historic proportion for the Funeral Profession in America.
Funeral Industry| Funeral blog byYour Funeral Guy. Funeral Director Commonwealth of Virginia.
National Memorial Park Entrance Pic from flickr
service corporation international
