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Questions Still Surround Van Corpses PDF Print E-mail
Written by DeadGirl   
Tuesday, 08 March 2005
FORT WORTH, TX — Tarrant County officials say they have been unable to determine why a mortuary van operator failed to have three corpses cremated as scheduled in 2000.
The decomposed remains of the three men—Otis Hughes, 56; Thomas Shadowens, 89; and Lonnie Leffall, 93—were discovered last week inside a repossessed van in Hurst. They had been dead for almost five years.

Tarrant County Medical Examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani updated reporters Tuesday about the case. He said van operator Donald Short rented garage space behind a funeral home on Henderson Street, and also leased space in a large cooler. It's believed Short kept the bodies there until he lost his lease in 2002.

Funeral director Monte Brown said Short did reliable work, and no one noticed the bodies.

"I did not know the bodies were here," Brown said. "Being a mortuary service, they were bringing bodies in and out all the time."

Peerwani said after Short removed the bodies, it remains unclear what happened to them between that time and their discovery in the van last week.

Short was supposed to have taken the corpses to a crematorium and then returned to the funeral home with the ashes. Peerwani said Short did return with something, but not with the remains of the deceased.

"As to why he did not cremate the bodies, I'm not really very sure why he didn't do that," Peerwani said.

"The explanation that he gave us was that the cremation permits had expired, and he didn't want to refile," Peerwani said. "He didn't know what to do with the bodies, so he was just keeping the bodies."

The medical examiner said that reasoning made no sense to him, since cremation permits do not expire.

Fort Worth police have indicated that they intend to charge Short with abuse of a corpse, a Class A misdemeanor that carries a one-year prison term and a $4,000 fine.

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA-TV

DallasNews.com

WFAA 8 Video Report
 
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