![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786144692_525_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home\u2019s basement on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cybele Mayes-Osterman)<\/p>\n
Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home\u2019s basement on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cybele Mayes-Osterman)<\/p>\n
Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n
Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n
Share<\/p>\n
Read More<\/p>\n
Funeral home client, community advocate express dismay, frustration<\/p>\n
Later Friday, a small number of residents and people seeking information about their deceased loved ones gathered in front of the brick-walled funeral home, which is on a South Chicago street lined with trees, homes and businesses.<\/p>\n
Latasha Johnson, 55, said her mother\u2019s funeral was held at South Chicago Chapel on Thursday before authorities arrived and she later heard of their gruesome discovery. She said authorities told her that her mother\u2019s body would have to undergo an autopsy and she would have to identify the remains in a day or two.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m discombobulated,\u201d she said. \u201cMy heart is broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blaise Von Bruchhaeuser, who described herself as a community advocate for the neighborhood, said it was upsetting that complaints about a terrible odor had been made for months before the decomposing bodies were found.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \n Sign up for Morning Wire: <\/p>\n Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home\u2019s basement on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)<\/p>\n Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home\u2019s basement on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n State business records show that funeral director Johanna Morgan incorporated South Chicago Chapel Inc. in 2022 and her funeral director\u2019s license was temporarily suspended on Wednesday. <\/p>\n The state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the license suspension was due to \u201ca finding that Respondent\u2019s continued practice is a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare due to Respondent allowing multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated area with deplorable conditions including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n The state business records also list Clark Morgan, who state officials say is Johanna Morgan\u2019s husband, as the funeral home\u2019s president. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said Clark Morgan\u2019s funeral director license was revoked in 2024 for practicing with an expired license and \u201cunprofessional conduct\u201d that it did not specify.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home\u2019s basement on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Tyler Pasciak \/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)<\/p>\n Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home\u2019s basement on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Tyler Pasciak \/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Funeral home owners also ran crematory that was shut down by the state<\/p>\n State Comptroller Susana Mendoza said Friday that Johanna and Clark Morgan previously ran a crematory in Chicago Heights, south of Chicago, which had its license revoked last year after authorities discovered improperly stored bodies and hundreds of cremated remains that had never been returned to their families.<\/p>\n \u201cHorrified. Again,\u201d Mendoza said in a statement. \u201cThe discovery of decomposing remains waiting to be laid to rest this week at a South Side funeral home is heartbreaking and an abomination. These are people \u2013 someone\u2019s mother, father, sister, brother, child or friend, and they deserve better.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home\u2019s basement on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)<\/p>\n Chicago police investigate South Chicago Chapel after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in the funeral home\u2019s basement on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Both Johanna and Clark Morgan are listed in Cook County court records as defendants in connection with lawsuits involving Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights, south of Chicago. <\/p>\n Messages were left Friday at phone listings for the Clarks and an attorney listed in records as their business agent. Public records indicate the Clarks live in the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park.<\/p>\n The case is the latest in a series of incidents involving mishandled remains over the past three years.<\/p>\n Last month, police arrested two men in Pueblo, Colorado,<\/a> for allegedly mishandling at least two dozen decomposing bodies and other remains found behind a hidden door in a funeral home.<\/p>\n That followed the discovery of 18 bodies<\/a> in various stages of decomposition at a funeral home in Georgia in 2024. In 2023, nearly 200 decomposing bodies<\/a> were found in a building in Colorado, and another 31 decomposing bodies<\/a> were discovered at an Indiana funeral home.<\/p>\n ____<\/p>\n
\n Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.\n <\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786144692_247_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786144693_973_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786144693_730_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n