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> 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> 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> 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> 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> 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. </s> (Reuters) - The remains of more than 60 infants and fetuses were found stashed in a Detroit funeral home, police said on Friday, calling the discovery “deeply disturbing.”

The incident comes about a week after the badly decomposed bodies of 11 babies were found hidden in a false ceiling at a different funeral home in the Michigan city.

No connection between the two cases has yet been established, Detroit’s police chief said. He added city, state and federal investigators were looking to form a task force to investigate the improper storage of human remains.

Unrefrigerated boxes containing about 36 sets of remains were recovered from the Perry Funeral Home along with another 27 sets of remains in a freezer, police said.

“This is deeply disturbing,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig told reporters on Friday. “I have never seen anything like this in my 41-1/2 years (on the force), ever.”

Investigators are working to establish ages and identities.

An official with Perry Funeral Home, which offers burial and cremation services, declined to comment on the incident.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs said in a statement it revoked the funeral home’s license and shut down the facility after inspectors “found heinous conditions and negligent conduct at the home.”

Police have also launched an investigation into the now defunct Cantrell Funeral Home, where the remains of the 11 babies were uncovered last week after authorities received an anonymous letter leading them to the remains.

Its former operators have not commented to media.

In April, state regulators found “deplorable, unsanitary conditions” at the same premises, including embalmed bodies in an unrefrigerated garage and other badly decomposed remains, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs said in a statement at the time.

The funeral home was also accused of several licensing and financial violations, the agency said. </s> 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."
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.