50-Plus Decomposing Bodies Found at Chicago Funeral Home

Investigators found more than 50 bodies in various states of decomposition at a funeral home on Chicago's Far South Side, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said, after state regulators suspended a funeral director's license over what they called "deplorable conditions."

Chicago police officers were seen entering and leaving South Chicago Chapel, at 95th Street and Exchange Avenue, on Thursday evening. A Chicago Police Department spokesperson referred questions to the medical examiner's office, which confirmed it had been notified by city and state officials about bodies improperly stored at the facility.

Investigators and forensic pathologists who went to the site "found more than 50 decedents in various states of decomposition at this time," the medical examiner's office said. Officials were still assessing the condition of the bodies and searching for documents to identify them, including death certificates — a process that could take several days.

Records from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation show the state suspended the license of funeral director Johanna Morgan after finding that the facility's "continued practice is a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare." The records say Morgan had been "allowing multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated area with deplorable conditions including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies."

Morgan was the funeral director at South Chicago Chapel as late as May 2025, though current records did not make clear whether she still held the role Thursday. The Illinois Secretary of State's website lists her husband, Clark Morgan, as president on the business's active license. The owners did not respond to messages left by CBS News Chicago.

Neighbors said the smell had persisted for months. "It just, like, stinks all the time. Like, it's so bad," said a woman who asked to be identified only as "V" and said she has lived directly behind the funeral home for about a year. Valkiery Velez, who lives next door with a 3-year-old, said, "I lived there for like a year, so, like, I could smell it the whole year."

Staff from Emmanuel Funeral Home & Cremation Services arrived Thursday evening to retrieve a body, unaware of the investigation. "We stopped by to get someone. We don't know what's going on at the moment," Pastor Christopher Jennings said, adding that repeated calls had gone unanswered before they decided to check in person.

Clark Morgan previously owned and operated Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights, which agreed to shut down amid a probe by the Illinois State Comptroller's office. Photos obtained by CBS News Chicago from a trailer on that property showed deceased people partially wrapped in sheets or clear plastic bags, with faces and body parts exposed.