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Crematory investigation leads to 25 more bodies |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Friday, 10 June 2005 |
By Shir Haberman
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BRENTWOOD - The mystery surrounding the activities that took place at Bayview Crematory in Seabrook deepened Thursday, when the results of the search of two funeral homes owned by former crematorium operator Derek Wallace were made public.
A May 13 raid on the Hart-Wallace Funeral Home in Lawrence, Mass., and Simplicity Burial and Crematory in Salisbury, Mass., uncovered the remains of another 25 bodies along with an alleged confession by employee James Fuller, a member of the Seabrook School Board, that the signature of the Massachusetts medical examiner had been forged on some documents.
"Based on what we seized in Massachusetts, everything remains in question," said Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams, who is heading up the investigation with the help of the state police in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The Bayview Crematory has been the subject of investigation by various New Hampshire agencies beginning on Feb. 23, when state troopers found the partially decomposed body of a woman in a non-air-conditioned room at the Seabrook business. They also found two sets of human remains in the crematorium’s oven and in a trash bin at rear of the building that was overflowing with medical waste.
"We still have four sets of remains seized at Bayview that haven’t been identified," Reams said.
The investigation found that the crematorium was not registered with the state and led to charges against two former assistant medical examiners for allegedly taking money for cremation certifications without ever viewing the bodies, which the law requires.
The goal of last Friday’s raid was to determine if there is a current link between Wallace and the Seabrook facility. Transfer records show that Wallace sold Bayview in 2002 to his mother, Linda Stokes, and stepfather, Larry Stokes, for $1, allegedly in an attempt to bypass a Massachusetts state law that prohibits a funeral home owner from having any financial interest in a crematorium.
Reams said information taken from the two funeral homes, along with information seized in raids on the Stokes and Wallace residences in Salisbury, Mass., last Friday, enhances the Rockingham County attorney’s ability to investigate the situation.
"It gives us much more information on who actually owns the Bayview, along with help in identifying the remains we have so far been unable to identify," he said.
The results of last week’s search of the two funeral homes filled a 44-page document filed in Rockingham County Superior Court by New Hampshire State Police Detective Jill Rockery. The search results also allege that the Massachusetts funeral homes, in at least two cases, did not return cremated remains to families who had entrusted the bodies of their loved ones to them. It was also alleged that several families ultimately were forced to pay more than the funeral home personnel had originally quoted them in order to get the cremains returned.
No charges have as yet been filed against either Stokes or Wallace. Reams said, however, that the information is still being analyzed and the investigation continues.
Reporter Patrick Cronin of The Hampton Union contributed to this story.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/05212005/news/43520.htm |
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