‘Deeply unsettling’ practices lead to shutdown of crematory, Maryland officials say
A crematory in Maryland was shut down after multiple investigations revealed unsanitary and improper storage of human remains, officials said.
Heaven Bound Cremation Services, located in White Plains, permanently closed Jan. 17 after a state board summarily suspended its permit, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health told McClatchy News.
“The reports regarding Heaven Bound Crematory are deeply unsettling,” the spokesperson said in a Jan. 27 email. “The Maryland Department of Health condemns in the strongest terms any mistreatment of human remains—on the basis of policy, respect for Maryland families, and basic decency.”
McClatchy News reached out to an owner of the crematory Jan. 27 but did not receive an immediate response.
The crematory, which received its permit in 2016, had a history of malpractice, according to the permit suspension order.
Following an inspection in 2017 that found several violations — including failing to send cremains to family members — the crematory’s license was placed on probation for a year on the conditions the owner complete an ethics course and practice under the supervision of a mentor, records show.
Three years later, another inspection revealed the owner “failed to comply” with the conditions, and the crematory’s license was again suspended for two years, according to the order.
More inspections continued to find indecent conditions, including one in March, when investigators said there were “human bodies in cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other with no support between the boxes; human bodies in ripped body bags with arms and legs hanging out of the body bags; human remains that were not being stored at temperatures below 40F; and blood on the refrigeration unit and bodily fluids on the floor.”
During an inspection this year, it was discovered that at least one of the bodies had been there since the inspection in March, among other unsanitary conditions, according to the report.
The Charles County Department of Health issued an abatement order Jan. 14 and the suspension order was signed by the president of the Maryland State Board of Morticians & Funeral Directors Jan. 17, records show.
McClatchy News reached out to the Board of Morticians & Funeral Directors Jan. 28 but did not receive an immediate response. It was not made clear why the crematory wasn’t closed down sooner.
Some who had relatives sent to the crematory spoke out after it was shut down.
“They gave us ashes but then we got a call a few days later that said he was sent to the anatomy board,” Emily Hooper, whose dad died in December, told 7News. “So do we have him or do we have somebody else? I just don’t understand it.”
White Plains is about a 30-mile drive south from Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 1:23 PM with the headline "‘Deeply unsettling’ practices lead to shutdown of crematory, Maryland officials say."
