Oct. 13 (UPI) -- State investigators have found the bodies of 11 infants in the ceiling of a former Detroit funeral home, police said.

The remains were discovered hours after state inspectors received an anonymous letter, "detailing the existence or the whereabouts of numerous remains, human remains inside the funeral home," Detroit Police Lieutenant Brian Bowser said at a press conference.

Inspectors of the Michigan Department Licensing and Regulatory Affairs received the letter at approximately 2:30 p.m. Friday, and inspectors went to the Cantrell Funeral Home on Detroit's east side, Bowser said. The current owner, Naveed Syed, let them inside, and they found boxes and small casket in the ceiling, Bowser said. Syed, who plans to turn the former funeral home into a community center, said he called police after the remains were discovered.

Police eventually found "11 remains of infants, stillborns," Bowser said, adding an investigation followed.

Michigan state cadaver dogs have looked for more bodies, but not have been found any more, he added.

"We do have names of some of the remains, and we're going to do follow up with medical examiner," he said to identify remains.

State inspectors had shut down the funeral home in April after inspectors found several violations including decomposing remains and "deplorable conditions," WDIV reported.

Among the violations that led LARA to suspend the mortuary science establishment license, inspectors previously found decomposing bodies stored in an non-refrigerated garage in a filthy back room.

"Some of the bodies had a tag on referring back to 2009, some had receipts on them as if the person or family didn't finish paying," Detroit Police Lieutenant Demps said.

Former funeral home owner Raymond Cantrell told Local 4 he did not order employees to hide bodies.

"On behalf of my family I'm really sorry that it happened and totally appalled," Cantrell said. "The fact it occurred. I'm just thanking God it wasn't something I had any involvement in."</s>Law enforcement has recovered the remains of 11 infants hidden in a false ceiling inside a Detroit funeral home that was shuttered earlier this year.

The bodies were located inside a “hidden false ceiling between the first and second floor of the funeral home,” Detroit Police Lt. Detective Brian Bowser said during a Friday press conference, part of which was posted on Twitter by Detroit News reporter Sarah Rahal. Bowser added that police do not know why the bodies were stowed in the ceiling.

DPD Lt. Detective Brian Bowser says they recovered bodies of 11 stillborns improperly stowed in a “hidden false ceiling between the first and second floor of the funeral home” after an anonymous letter was sent to LARA Friday. @detroitnews pic.twitter.com/unqxCanety — Sarah Rahal (@SarahRahal_) October 13, 2018

Bowser told reporters that inspectors from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs had received an anonymous letter on Friday detailing how to find bodies inside the now-closed Cantrell Funeral Home. When inspectors found the bodies, Bowser said in the video above, they called police.

Naveed Syed, who currently owns the property where the funeral home is located, told local news station, told WXYZ that he helped lead state inspectors to the bodies. He said inspectors told him at least one of the bodies appeared to have in the ceiling since 2009.

Nine of the bodies were badly decomposed while two were inside a casket, according to Reuters. Some of the infants appeared to have been stillborn, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Jameca LaJoyce Boone, who had managed the funeral home the year before it closed, told The Detroit News she was shocked there were bodies hidden in the ceiling.

“I didn’t know anything about that,” she said. “I really don’t know how that could even have happened. I don’t know how long that’s been going on there… it’s very unfortunate and they definitely need to find out who put them there.”

The county medical examiner’s office has identified some of the bodies and is notifying the families of the infants. No additional bodies have been found inside the building.

State officials had shut the funeral home down in April over numerous issues including improperly stored bodies covered in mold, unsanitary conditions and financial violations.</s>DETROIT – Construction workers found the bodies of 11 infants inside a defunct Detroit funeral home Friday, police say.

The crew was working on the Cantrell Funeral Home on the city’s east side when they found the bodies just before 5:30 p.m., according to The Detroit News.

Police say the bodies had been hidden in the ceiling of the Mack Avenue business – eight inside a cardboard box and three others in individual bags inside a casket.

In late April of 2018, state inspectors ordered the funeral home to close after finding “deplorable” conditions that included moldy, unrefrigerated bodies in various states of decomposition, according to MLive.com.

Michigan State Police and the Wayne County Medical examiners responded to the former funeral home Friday.</s>DETROIT (AP) — An anonymously-written letter led Michigan inspectors to find badly decomposed remains of 11 infants hidden in a ceiling compartment of a shuttered Detroit funeral home, police say.

Inspectors with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs found the remains Friday at the former Cantrell Funeral Home, just hours after receiving the letter telling them where the bodies were located, Detroit police Lt. Brian Bowser told reporters. The funeral home has been closed since April, when state inspectors suspended its license following the discovery of bodies covered with what appeared to be mold.

The remains of the infants, some of them apparently stillborn, were in a false ceiling between the first and second floors, Brower said. Authorities do not know how long the remains had been stored there, he said. Investigators also have not determined who might have left the bodies there.

“Obviously, it was either an employee or someone who had knowledge” of the funeral home and the building, Bowser said. He also noted that the remains “were kind of hidden away.”

Investigators have names for some of the remains and officials were contacting relatives, Bowser said.

Jameca LaJoyce Boone, the funeral home’s designated manager for a year before its closure, said she was shocked by the discovery of bodies in the ceiling.

“I didn’t know anything about that,” Boone told The Detroit News. “I really don’t know how that could even have happened.”

© Copyright 2018 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed</s>Friday, the bodies of 11 deceased infants were found in the ceiling of a Detroit, Michigan funeral home.

According to police, the bodies were found in bags, most inside a cardboard box and others stuffed in a small coffin.

The discovery was made after an anonymous letter was sent to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), which licenses funeral homes, Friday afternoon.

The letter described exactly where the remains could be found.

The Cantrell Funeral Home was reportedly shut down in April due to a series of severe violations.

The Detroit Police Department will continue to investigate the discovery Friday and had cadaver dogs searching the property.

Additionally, police say they have names of some of the deceased infants and that the medical examiner will conduct an investigation.

It is possible the number of bodies could grow, reports say.

The post Bodies of 11 infants found in ceiling of funeral home appeared first on 850 WFTL.</s>In a story that is as strange as it is heartbreaking, Detroit police found the remains of 11 infants hidden in a ceiling compartment at a funeral home on Friday.

Michigan state officials received an anonymous tip that led them to the horrifying discovery of 11 dead infants. The bodies were found hidden in the ceiling of a closed funeral home on Friday afternoon.

The bodies were discovered by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. They were acting on an anonymous letter they received on Friday, which contained detailed information about exactly where the bodies were hidden, according to Detroit News.

Officials “were met here by the current owner, who admitted them entry,” said Detroit PD Lt. Detective Brian Bowser. “They went to the location described in the letter.”

The state inspectors called police immediately so the bodies could be properly recovered. The bodies were contained in a cardboard box and a small casket inside the ceiling compartment, which was between the first and second floors of the building.

The bodies are now with the Wayne County medical examiner’s office. Some names for the deceased have already been discovered, and authorities are working to identify all of the remains. No names or ages for the deceased infants has been released. Detectives will attempt to contact the family members before any names are made public.

Detroit police searched the rest of the building, but no additional bodies were discovered.

The funeral home is no longer in operation, and police are currently attempting to locate the former owner. The home was suspended by state officials for multiple violations, including “improper storage of decomposing bodies of adults and infants,” according to a spokesperson. The home has been closed since April.

The funeral home is in the process of being turned into a community center, CNN reports.

Detectives say that some of the bodies were identified with tags dating to 2009. Detroit police have stated that they will find out what happened to the bodies, and why. At this time, they did not disclose any leads they may be pursuing in this ongoing investigation.

After numerous media attempts to contact the former owner, Raymond Cantrell finally spoke to a local news station in Detroit.

“On behalf of my family I’m really sorry that it happened and totally appalled. The fact it occurred. I’m just thanking God it wasn’t something I had any involvement in,” he said to Detroit Local 4. “I didn’t go and try to discover things. I was trying to go handling things at hand.”

Cantrell no longer lives in Michigan, but said he is willing to talk to police.</s>Six months after a Detroit funeral home was shut down for its “deplorable conditions,” investigators made a gruesome discovery of 11 infant bodies hidden in the ceiling.

Inspectors from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs found the remains at Cantrell Funeral Home after receiving an anonymous note on Friday afternoon that detailed their whereabouts, Detroit Police Detective Lt. Brian Bowser said in a press conference Friday.

“[LARA] received an anonymous letter describing exactly where the remains were,” Bowser explained, as reported by WXYZ-TV Detroit, noting that the Funeral Home owner admitted them entry. “They went right to the location — you have to climb up a ladder to look — and that’s when they observed the box and casket and called 9-11.”

With help from Detroit Police, the bodies of 11 infants and stillborns — stored in a cardboard box and multiple trash bags in one small casket — were found tucked away in a “lowered” false ceiling between the first and second story of the building.

“They’re very small remains,” Bowser said. “We have to find out what happened, and why it happened.”

Bowser also explained that the building had undergone construction several times and added a second story, which is how bodies were able to be hidden in what he described as the “empty space” between the floors.

In April, the funeral home was shut down after state officials discovered bodies that were “badly decomposed and covered in mold,” reports Fox 2 Detroit. At the time, the owner Raymond Cantrell — who reportedly took over the company in 2017 — admitted to storing the bodies to help customers who could not afford a proper burial.

“If I had them in the funeral home then my funeral home wouldn’t smell fresh,” Cantrell told the local outlet. “So yes, they are embalmed and serviced we put them in the garage.”

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“Those who have asked me to hold their loved ones will know I was doing them a favor to accommodate them,” he continued. “For those that weren’t, like the many of the cremated they are trying to take from here or that they are taking from here. Those individuals we called we’ve tried to notify and they haven’t been picked up.”

Immediately after Friday’s discovery, a cadaver unit dog was brought in but no additional bodies were found.

Bowser said officials are working with the Wayne County medical examiner’s office to identify the bodies, some of which already have names, and notify family members.

While he acknowledged that the bodies were improperly cared for, he was unable to disclose how long they had been hidden in the ceiling for and if there are any impending criminal charges.

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LARA Communications Director Jason Moon also issued a statement about the gruesome discovery.

“Based on a new complaint, LARA investigators today searched Cantrell Funeral Home and found the decomposing bodies of 11 infants. We then immediately contacted local authorities,” he said. “In April, LARA suspended the mortuary licenses of both the home and its manager Jameca LaJoyce Boone for many violations including the improper storage of decomposing bodies of adult and infants.”

“That suspension order remains in effect as does our investigation,” Moon continued. “We will use the evidence gathered today to add to our open investigation and will continue to work with local law enforcement as this case proceeds.”</s>The badly decomposed bodies of 11 infants were found in the ceiling of a former funeral home on Detroit's east side, Detroit police said.

The remains were found late Friday afternoon by state investigators just hours after they received an anonymous letter explaining how to find the bodies carefully hidden inside the false ceiling, Detroit police said.

The bodies had been hidden inside the former Cantrell Funeral Home at 10400 Mack Avenue at Garland, about 10 blocks east of the Indian Village neighborhood. The funeral home was closed by state authorities in April after they found numerous violations of state law.

After the infants' bodies were uncovered, Michigan State Police used a cadaver-trained police dog to search the entire building, but no additional bodies were found, said Detroit police Lt. Brian Bowser.

"We do have names for some of the remains and we're going to try to contact the families," Bowser said.

He said he was unable to say how long the remains had been stored there or how old they were. But he said he was upset "by the callousness" of whoever had placed the remains of infants, some of them apparently stillborn, inside a cardboard box hidden in the drop-down ceiling of a stairwell. Police want to speak to the former home's longtime owner, Raymond Cantrell, Bowser said.

"Obviously, it was either an employee or someone who had knowledge" of the business and the building who hid the bodies, for unknown reasons, he added.

Detroit Police Homicide lieutenant Brian Bowser talks outside of Cantrell Funeral Home in Detroit on Friday, October 12, 2018.

The successor business of the shuttered funeral home in Detroit operates on Kelly Road in Eastpointe as Cantrell Funeral Services. That firm's answering service said none of the owners or manages were available to comment Friday night. The firm's website praises the former Detroit's home's longtime owner, Raymond Cantrell. The website says:

"Our father, Raymond E. Cantrell, founder of Cantrell Funeral Home in Detroit, has provided excellent service for over 50 years. As the next generation of funeral directors, our goal is to continue in his footprints of quality, family-oriented and customer focused funeral service."

A spokesman for the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs confirmed Friday that state inspectors found the bodies.

“We will use the evidence gathered today to add to our open investigation and will continue to work with local law enforcement as this case proceeds,” LARA communications director Jason Moon said in and email.

In April, state investigators found that embalmed bodies had been stored for months in an unrefrigerated garage and other unsanitary areas, allowing them to deteriorate — one body was kept from January until April before it was cremated, according to state officials.

The funeral home, which had operated for half a century, also had committed numerous other violations of state rules, such as the failure to deposit more than $21,000 in prepayments by at least 13 customers who'd signed contracts for future funeral services, according to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Also in April, state regulators suspended the funeral home's license and suspended the individual mortuary science license of the manager, Jameca LaJoyce Boone, according to state website.

Overall, state officials had charged the operators of Cantrell Funeral Home with "fraud, deceit, dishonesty, incompetence, and gross negligence in the practice of mortuary science," according to a report issued in April about the decision to close the business.

In particular, the state says that anyone "who converts funds paid pursuant to a prepaid contract to his or her own use or benefit … is guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of $5,000 or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both," according to the website of the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.</s>DETROIT (AP) — An anonymously written letter led Michigan inspectors to find badly decomposed remains of 11 infants hidden in a ceiling compartment of a shuttered Detroit funeral home, police say.

Inspectors with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs found the remains Friday at the former Cantrell Funeral Home, just hours after receiving the letter telling them where the bodies were located, Detroit police Lt. Brian Bowser told reporters. The funeral home has been closed since April, when state inspectors suspended its license following the discovery of bodies covered with what appeared to be mold.

The remains of the infants, some of them apparently stillborn, were in a false ceiling between the first and second floors, Brower said. Authorities do not know how long the remains had been stored there, he said. Investigators also have not determined who might have left the bodies there.

“Obviously, it was either an employee or someone who had knowledge” of the funeral home and the building, Bowser said. He also noted that the remains “were kind of hidden away.”</s>DETROIT -- Authorities say the bodies of 11 babies have been found in a funeral home that was closed six months ago. Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs spokesman Jason Moon says inspectors found the bodies Friday at the Cantrell Funeral Home on the city's east side.

Detroit police say eight or nine bodies were found in a cardboard box and the others in one or more caskets, all hidden in a ceiling. Police ordered a search of the building to ensure there are no additional bodies inside.

The regulatory agency suspended the license of the funeral home in April after inspectors found decomposing embalmed bodies and other violations. Violations also included two improperly stored bodies covered in what appeared to be mold and a third body with unknown fluids covering the facial area.
Acting on an anonymous tip, Michigan state inspectors discover the bodies of 11 badly-decomposed infants inside the ceiling of a former funeral home in Detroit.