Flies and bugs swarmed neglected bodies decomposing in mortuary, Texas cops say

Directors of a Texas funeral home are accused of neglecting bodies found decomposing in their mortuary without working air conditioning, authorities say.

Gayle Bell and Michael Richardson, who remained co-owners of Richardson Mortuary after their 2016 divorce, are each charged with abuse of a corpse following an investigation that began in April, according to the Houston Police Department.

The daughter of one of the deceased individuals was the first to make the discovery on April 11 when she entered the building through an opened back door, officers said in a criminal complaint.

“She found her deceased mother in a coffin covered in bugs and in advanced state of decay,” authorities said. “... She also noticed several deceased bodies in the warm building in different stages of decomposition. The building was open to the elements, very dirty, hot, not sanitary and under construction with a strong odor of decomposition.”

A video taken by the woman’s brother showed multiple bodies on gurneys, including some uncovered, McClatchy News reported. A hallway was full of caskets and gurneys, with insects present around the bodies.

The owner of a company that provides removal and transportation services for deceased individuals said he found 12 bodies in the mortuary in “various stages of decomposition, including one decedent that was largely liquified,” police said. He had been asked by Bell to transport the bodies because of the building’s “poor conditions.”

Bell, who said her ex-husband was responsible for the building, told officers the mortuary had been damaged following Hurricane Beryl in July 2024, authorities said. Afterward, the building’s air conditioning did not work properly, according to police.

An officer who inspected the building found around 70 cremated bodies, which police said were in “inhumane conditions.”

“Flies and bugs were in the building and the insects were attracted to the decomposing bodies,” according to the complaint. “The decomposing bodies in the building were warm with flies and other bugs about their faces and bodies.”

Richardson Mortuary was ordered to cease and desist its operations on April 14 by the Texas Funeral Service Commission, KRIV reported.

Shortly before its closure, a man was stabbed by a worker at the mortuary after confronting the employee about the building’s conditions, McClatchy News reported.

The worker, Andre Thomas, was charged with aggravated assault, KTRK reported.