The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
State officials arrived at a Park Place fixture, the Carlos A. Howard Funeral Home, on Thursday to shut it down for improperly preparing a body, but the owner quickly filed for an injunction and said he was open for business.
According to state documents, the body of a gunshot victim prepared by the funeral home was leaking embalming fluid and had been poorly restored when it arrived at a Philadelphia funeral home in July. A box sent with the body had instructions that it be delivered to the family, implying that it contained personal effects, but in fact, it held "intestines and other organs of the deceased," the documents show.
Bullet marks were visible, and the victim's scalp had to be re-sewn when it arrived at Nix & Nix Funeral Home, the paperwork, from the state Department of Health Professions, said.
Owner Carlos Howard denied the allegations. He said he was not contracted by the family to do restorative work, and he showed The Virginian-Pilot a copy of the contract. He said it was up to Nix & Nix to restore the body.
State officials agreed to allow Howard to hold a viewing Thursday evening but instructed him to hold no funerals today and to make arrangements to move any remains to other funeral homes.
Howard said Thursday night that he has several funerals lined up today and that they will be held as scheduled.
Howard's request for an injunction will be heard at 3:30 today in Circuit Court.
In a letter dated Wednesday, the Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers told Howard his license had been revoked.
"It shall be unlawful for the Carlos A. Howard Funeral Home to operate or hold itself out as a funeral service facility," the letter says.
It also says the facility must remain closed until a board hearing March 8 in Henrico County in suburban Richmond.
A prior hearing was held in early December on the allegations, the state documents show, but Howard said he was not notified or given a chance to defend himself.
Howard said the board is composed largely of other funeral home operators with whom he competes. He said his prices are much lower than most local funeral homes.
"This is simply about the elimination of competition," he said.
He said embalming fluid could not have leaked from the body because of the process he used for embalming.
"That did not happen," he said.
He also said the box of intestines and organs could not have been mistaken for personal effects. "I spoke to the family and told them there were no personal effects," Howard said. Because the deceased was a murder victim, he said, all of his personal effects were retained by the police.
Howard has led efforts to try to revive the 35th Street business corridor, where his funeral home is located. He also has led efforts, futile so far, to persuade the city to purchase the Boys &Girls Club on Colonial Avenue and reopen it as a community center.
Diane Powers, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health Professions, said in an email
that such closures of funeral homes are rare - she cited only two others in the past five years in the state.
Harry Minium, 757-446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com
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does
this seem fishy to anybody, while riddicks funeral home owes thousands in taxes and remains open in the same week the attention is turned to supposedly the shoddy work of this funeral home and his business is shut down? wow what a city! what other funeral home that owes taxes could possibly benefit from this shutdown?
Did they ever find who
Did they ever find who killed him?
it is or it isn't...
...If the state regulatory commission on funeral homes has done its homework and investigation properly, it's a fact. If the investigation was shoddy, then it's fiction. Which is it? Oh, I forgot, we play such affairs out in the press, then decide on the matter of fact. "Give me a break!"
A professional
As a fellow Licensed Funeral Director I would like to know why the organs were not put back in the body instead of in a box at the feet.
Im wondering why the Dix and Dix Funeral Home didn't just finish the body when they recieved it. I have had bodies shipped in that required additional work, we just did what needed to be done.
Bodies do leak, it happens, Its the responsibility of the Funeral Director/Embalmer to use proper garments on the body to prevent the soiling of the clothes (Why wasnt that done bye either funeral home).
As for the restoration work, regardless to who was supposed to do it why wasn't it done properly if the body couldn't be restored to family satisfaction why not just do a closed casket.
This case is complex.
sometimes dead people leak.
sometimes dead people leak. get over it.
Mystery box puts the FUN in funeral!
Does the box from the undertaker contain "intestines and organs" or personal effects? Only one way to find out!
Does anyone know
if he held the funerals that were scheduled for today? I think that he should have been allowed to hold any services he already had scheduled so that is not meant to be negative in any way.
I'm not a mortician so I'm not doubting his word or method, but wouldn't some restorative work be necessary to prevent the body from leaking seeing as the deceased was a gunshot victim?
jim crowe
Jim Crowe has been dead a long time. Have you noticed who is in the white house?
Would be nice...
Would be nice if people withheld their dumb comments until all the facts are known.
Also would be nice if the Black community would stop playing the race card all the time when someone of a certain skin color has an issue arise.
He has a court date for the injunction and I'm sure more details will come out to make a better, informed opinion on the matter.
It does appear he pays his taxes so he's much better than Councilman Riddick.
This does not smell right.
I have done plenty of business with the powers at be in Richmond, and lets just say they could give a rat's butt about the plight of black people, especially those in the dope game and get murdered. I just saw Carlos has been advertising he would sell caskets and do funerals with a minimum mark up, compared to his competition, whose outrageous mark ups and rip off tactics are well known. This smells like his competition is using the state to try and force him out of business. He already has counsel and an injunction. Stay strong Mr. Howard.