What is abuse of a corpse in Kentucky?

Oct. 18—JEFFERSONVILLE — A Kentucky man doesn't know where his mom's body is following the July raid on Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville.

That's according to a lawsuit filed Oct. 14 in Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville by plaintiff Ichiro Vance.

The civil suit is being brought against Freedom Mortuary Services LLC and funeral home director Randy Lankford.

In the lawsuit Vance said, through his attorney, that his mother died on March 5 and the Jefferson County, Kentucky coroner suggested the use of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center for burial services.

More than seven months later "plaintiff is unaware as to the whereabouts of his mother's body and/or remains," the lawsuit says.

According to the complaint, Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center retrieved Vance's mother's body from Kentucky and brought it to Jeffersonville for burial services.

In July, the funeral home was raided by Clark County authorities after people nearby complained of a smell.

The lawsuit claims Lankford has violated Kentucky's abuse of a corpse law and that the plaintiff "has sustained significant emotional pain and suffering all as a direct result of the Defendant's abuse of his mother's corpse pursuant to statute."

Kentucky law states "A person is guilty of abuse of a corpse when except as authorized by law he intentionally treats a corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities. A person shall also be guilty of abuse of a corpse if that person enters into a contract and accepts remuneration for the preparation of a corpse for burial or the burial or cremation of a corpse and then deliberately fails to prepare, bury, or cremate that corpse in accordance with that contract."

Indiana's laws are different. The state's abuse of a corpse statute doesn't apply to a funeral director or embalmer. It does apply to a person who knowingly or intentionally mutilates a corpse, has sexual intercourse or sexual deviant conduct with a corpse or opens a casket with the intent to commit one of those acts.

Vance's lawsuit also alleges negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and a violation of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act.

"The Defendants conduct represents clear violations of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act as the Defendants fraudulently or deceptively schemed to accept remuneration and failed to dispose of the body of Jennie Chiba in accordance with the terms of the contract," the lawsuit says.

Late last month another family filed a lawsuit against Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center, claiming they also didn't have their loved one's remains.

Plaintiffs Michael and Jason Rasmovich allege in a complaint filed on Sept. 30 in Clark County that Lankford told them he'd "performed customary and appropriate funerary services for the remains of their loved one, the deceased."

The complaint states that didn't happen.

Instead the deceased, "was left to rot at the funeral home, along with at least 30 other human bodies. To date, these funerary services have not been provided, including, but not limited to, the cremation of the remains of (the deceased) and the provision of a funerary urn," plaintiffs state in the complaint.

Other families in this case have told the News and Tribune it's taken time for them to get the remains of loved ones back.

Lankford is also facing criminal charges in the case, including theft, out of Clark County. Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said more charges are coming in the case.

He is currently being held in the Clark County Jail and has been in custody since August.

According to court documents, a change of venue hearing is set for Nov. 22 in several of Lankford's civil cases.

His attorney argues he can't get a fair trial in Clark County and is asking to have it held in Scott County instead.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man has been arrested for abusing a corpse after police say he wrapped his elderly mother's dead body and left it on a back porch to decompose for more than a year-and-a-half.

According to court documents, 58-year-old David Lee Wood was arrested Tuesday afternoon.

Police discovered the remains on Dec. 1, in the 1100 block of Cristland Avenue, not far from Third Street Road in Louisville's Auburndale neighborhood.

According to court documents, police identified the remains as those of Wood's mother. Police say when Wood was brought in for questioning on an outstanding bench warrant, he told police that he had been his mother's caretaker. He allegedly told officers that she died in May 2020, and he wrapped her up and carried her out to the back porch, where he left her.

Police say her body remained there until officers found her.

Wood, "treated the corpse in ways that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities," according to the arrest report.

He is scheduled to appear before a judge to answer for the abuse of a corpse charge on Wednesday morning. Wood remains in Louisville Metro Corrections.

Previous story:

LMPD investigating after human remains found in Auburndale neighborhood

Back

<< Return to "Chapter 9. Crime, Records Check, False Claims and Fraud"

2927.01 Abuse of a corpse.

(A) No person, except as authorized by law, shall treat a human corpse in a way that the person knows would outrage reasonable family sensibilities.

(B) No person, except as authorized by law, shall treat a human corpse in a way that would outrage reasonable community sensibilities.

(C) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor of the second degree. Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of gross abuse of a corpse, a felony of the fifth degree.

On October 1, 2014, Goldia Massey of Cynthiana, Kentucky was reported missing by her son. She was later determined to have died “on or about” September 21, 2014. Upon her death, her body was sawed to pieces and dumped into the Kentucky River. In October 2014, Massey’s arm was found along the river in Henry County and her torso was found that December along the river in Jessamine County.

In August 2016, the jury took less than three hours to find Paris Charles, a 60 year old handyman and former boyfriend of Massey, guilty of her murder and abuse of her corpse. While sentencing will take place later this week, the jury recommended a 35-year sentence for murder and a $500 fine for abuse of a corpse.

Kentucky Statute §525.120 dictates that a person commits the crime of abuse of corpse when “he intentionally treats a corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities.” It is a Class A misdemeanor unless the abuse involves sexual intercourse or “deliberate failure to prepare, bury, or cremate a corpse” after entering into a contract to do so. In these cases, the abuse will be categorized as a Class D felony.

The case of Golida Massey clearly does not fall into the felony provision of the statute; there is no evidence of sexual activity with her corpse and the abuse did not happen as a result of a breach of contract. Charles was convicted under the misdemeanor provision of the statute, which prohibits any treatment “that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities.” What is an ordinary family sensibility?

While most will likely agree that sawing a corpse to pieces would “outrage ordinary family sensibilities,” this provision is extremely ambiguous. America is composed of many religions and types of families. Is there really an “ordinary family” that can be used to judge inappropriate treatment of human remains?

Had Massey's body been sawed up in another state, the criminal statute might have more definitively prohibited the behavior. For example, some states prohibit “mutilation” of a corpse. Illinois goes further and specifically defines the crime of dismembering a corpse as when an individual “knowingly dismembers, severs, separates, dissects, or mutilates any body part of a deceased’s body.”

Kentucky, however, is among many states that define abuse of a corpse only in terms of what would offend an ordinary family’s sensibilities. While most jurors will likely consider sawing up your girlfriend’s body to offend ordinary sensibilities, what will happen when a defendant commits a slightly more subtle injustice to his girlfriend’s corpse? Will ambiguous state statutes let him slip away unpunished? What will happen when grieving loved ones perform a unique ritual as part of a religious tradition? Will ambiguous state statutes criminalize their grief? What really is an "ordinary family"?

Lauren Stovall

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes, a free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes, visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law.

Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Kentucky Revised Statutes Title L. Kentucky Penal Code § 525.120. Abuse of a corpse - last updated January 01, 2018 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ky/title-l-kentucky-penal-code/ky-rev-st-sect-525-120.html

FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature or via Westlaw before relying on it for your legal needs.