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Former Funeral Home Employee Accused of Stealing Embalming Equipment in Nashville
A former staff member of a Nashville funeral home is facing theft charges after allegedly stealing embalming equipment from the business, according to a report by Fox 17 WZTV Nashville.
Officers responded this week to a reported theft at Smith Funeral Home. The funeral home’s director, Melvin Smith, told investigators that a former employee, Christopher Jefferson, is accused of taking an embalming machine along with five embalming headrests in November. Law enforcement documents estimate the combined value of the missing items at approximately $3,600.
Investigators report that surveillance footage from the funeral home appears to show Jefferson exiting the building with the embalming machine and placing it into a pickup truck.
Jefferson has since been charged in connection with the alleged theft. The case remains under investigation.
Preventing Employee Theft in Funeral Homes: Practical Safeguards
Incidents like this highlight the importance of strong internal controls within funeral homes, particularly given the high value of specialized equipment and the sensitive nature of the work.
Steps funeral homes can take to reduce risk include:
- Tighten access controls: Limit access to prep rooms, equipment storage, and supply areas to only those employees who require it. Use keycards, access logs, or coded entry systems to track movement.
- Maintain detailed asset inventories: Keep an up-to-date inventory of all equipment, tools, and supplies, including serial numbers and replacement values. Conduct regular audits to identify discrepancies early.
- Install and actively monitor surveillance systems: Cameras should cover entrances, exits, and storage rooms. More importantly, footage should be reviewed periodically rather than only after an incident occurs.
- Separate duties when possible: Avoid allowing one employee to have sole control over ordering, storing and disposing of equipment or supplies. Dividing responsibilities reduces opportunities for theft.
- Conduct thorough background checks: Pre-employment screening, consistent with local laws, can help identify prior theft or fraud concerns before a hire is made.
- Set clear policies and expectations: Employee handbooks should explicitly address theft, misuse of property, and disciplinary consequences. Regular training reinforces accountability and professional standards.
How Funeral Homes Should Respond to Suspected Employee Theft
If theft is suspected or discovered, a measured and professional response is critical.
- Preserve evidence immediately: Secure surveillance footage, access logs, inventory records and any relevant documentation before confronting the individual.
- Limit internal discussion: Keep the matter confidential to protect the integrity of the investigation and avoid reputational harm.
- Consult legal counsel: An attorney can advise on employment law, termination procedures and coordination with law enforcement.
- Report to authorities when appropriate: Theft of high-value equipment or controlled materials should be documented with a police report to protect the business and support insurance claims.
- Review internal controls afterward: Use the incident as an opportunity to strengthen policies, improve oversight, and reduce future risk.
For funeral homes, trust is foundational—not only with families served, but also within the organization itself. Proactive controls and clear response plans can help safeguard both assets and reputation.
Batesville Launches Webinar Series on the Future of the Funeral Home Experience
Batesville, a leading provider of burial, cremation, and technology solutions in North America, announced a three-part educational webinar series designed to help funeral professionals adapt to changing consumer expectations, enhance the in-person experience, and expand family choice through personalization and merchandising solutions.
The live webinar series, taking place in January, February, and March 2026, will focus on how funeral homes can align their experiences, offerings, and tools with the needs of today’s families.
January – Meeting Modern Expectations: Redefining the Consumer Experience
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 | 1:00-1:45 PM ET | Q&A to follow This session explores how funeral homes can apply retail science principles to evolve the consumer experience. Attendees will gain insight into how technology, product presentation, and physical environments can work together to help families feel more informed, confident, and supported throughout the arrangement process.
Presented by: Jen Parvin, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Batesville and Devine Dardanes, Executive Vice President of Business Development, B+N Industries
Moderator: Ryan Thogmartin, Founder and CEO of Disrupt Media.
Registration is available now on Batesville.com.
February – What’s Next in Family Choices®: Personalization That Tells Every Story
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | This webinar will explore how personalization continues to shape the future of funeral service. The session will examine evolving consumer
expectations and how personalization offerings have expanded over time, enabling funeral professionals to help families create meaningful, individualized tributes.
Presented by: Jeremy Raver, Product Marketing Manager, Batesville
March – Maximizing Cremation Options: Tools and Solutions to Elevate Your Offerings
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 | Focused on the growing demand for cremation, this session will examine how modern merchandising tools and solutions can help funeral homes better serve cremation families while creating new opportunities for their business.
Presented by: Batesville Cremation Team
Registration for the February and March webinars will be available in January of 2026. For a complete listing and descriptions of all education events, visit Bastesville.com for more information.
Homesteaders Life Company Appoints Courtney Gould Miller as Chief Growth Officer
Homesteaders Life Company has announced that Courtney Gould Miller will join the organization as chief growth officer, effective January 2026.
Gould Miller will serve on the company’s executive leadership team, leading growth initiatives across Homesteaders’ owned and invested-in businesses and advancing the company’s strategic commitment to digital innovation across the funeral profession and the broader end-of-life ecosystem.
In this new role, Gould Miller will guide Homesteaders’ existing team to optimize its marketing strategy, strengthen consumer-facing solutions, enhance support for funeral homes through both direct channels and partnerships and continue to expand upon Homesteaders’ leading class online planning pathways. She will be a key driver in Homesteaders’ consumer engagement efforts and work closely with Homesteaders’ portfolio companies to drive integration, accelerate results and maximize value for funeral home clients nationwide.
“Courtney brings an exceptional combination of funeral profession knowledge, strategic leadership and digital acumen to Homesteaders,” said Nick Gerhart, chief operating officer. “Her ability to translate vision into meaningful, modern solutions for funeral homes has set her apart in our profession. We believe she will have a significant impact on Homesteaders’ future, our funeral home partners and the entire funeral profession.”
Gould Miller joins Homesteaders after serving as president of commercial markets for Tribute Technology, where she oversaw all commercial operations, including marketing, sales and account management for the largest combined platform of funeral home websites and management software in the profession.
In this role, she created and launched the Tribute brand, unifying multiple portfolio companies under a single identity and positioning Tribute as a leading technology partner to funeral homes.
She co-created the profession’s first AI-powered obituary writer, an award-winning tool that has shaped modern digital memorialization. She also launched Tribute’s unified customer relationship model, established the company’s first Customer Advisory Board and helped strengthen Tribute’s service ecosystem through a client-centered approach to growth.
Before joining Tribute, Gould Miller served as an owner of her family’s business, MKJ Marketing, founded in 1982 by Glenn Gould and Marilyn Jones Gould, advising thousands of funeral homes on digital strategy, branding and growth planning. She also founded Lumen Cremation, an online cremation business in Nashville, Tennessee, which served hundreds of families before being acquired by Park Lawn Corporation.
Gould Miller began her career as an attorney at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, one of the nation’s leading law firms, before transitioning into the funeral profession through her work at MKJ Marketing.
“It is a privilege to join Homesteaders’ leadership team,” Gould Miller said. “The company’s mission, culture and long-standing commitment to serving funeral homes and the profession in general connects deeply with my own work. I look forward to advancing digital innovation across the preneed ecosystem, strengthening partnerships and supporting Homesteaders’ clients as they serve their communities with excellence.”
San Jose Funeral Home Sued After Father Allegedly Given Brain Matter
A San Jose funeral, California funeral home is facing a lawsuit over an mishandling of human remains: A father claims he was mistakenly given a bag containing brain matter, according to a report by ABC 7 News.
The family involved says the error compounded an already unimaginable loss. Their son, 27-year-old Alexander Pinon, died May 19. They entrusted funeral arrangements to Lima Family Erickson Memorial Chapel.
According to the lawsuit, the family paid more than $10,000 for a comprehensive memorial package. They selected special clothing for Alexander to wear during the service and requested that the clothing he had on at the time of death be returned to them. The complaint alleges that a funeral director later handed Alexander’s father a bag that was represented as containing those clothes.
When the father returned home and attempted to wash the contents, he discovered human tissue inside the bag. The family initially had no understanding of what the material was or whether it belonged to their son or someone else. Only later did it become clear what the material was.
The lawsuit states that Alexander’s father returned the bag to the funeral home. It further alleges that the funeral director accepted the bag without providing any explanation, clarification, or apology.
Lima Family Erickson Memorial Chapel directed inquiries to its parent company, Service Corporation International (SCI), which operates funeral homes nationwide under the Dignity Memorial brand. SCI declined to comment on the case, citing ongoing litigation.
Get the full coverage here.
Golnick-Schueneman Funeral Home Expands by Acquiring Haskell Funeral Homes in Wyoming and Princeville
Golnick-Schueneman Funeral Home, a long-established funeral service provider based in Kewanee, Illinois, has completed the acquisition of Haskell Funeral Homes, expanding its operations into the neighboring communities of Wyoming and Princeville.
The transaction brings both facilities under the management of James and Brandee Golnick, who operate the Kewanee funeral home. The acquisition process spanned roughly 15 months, the Kewanee Voice reported.
Haskell Funeral Homes had been serving Wyoming and Princeville since its founding by Bert and Veronica Haskell in 2013. The business offers a range of funeral and cremation services, including traditional funerals, memorial services, and direct cremation options
tailored to community needs. With this change in ownership, existing employees from Haskell Funeral Homes are transitioning into the Golnick-Schueneman organization.
Staff joining the expanded operation include long-time Haskell team member Nicole Reed, who served the Wyoming and Princeville locations since 2016, as well as recent addition Jake Martin. Other support personnel, including the office manager and multiple funeral assistants, are also integrating into Golnick-Schueneman’s workforce. Personnel from all three locations will work across the service areas as required.
Golnick-Schueneman Funeral Home itself has deep roots in the Kewanee community, with records indicating a history of funeral service at its address dating back to at least the early 20th century.
The expanded network is intended to strengthen the ability of Golnick-Schueneman to serve families in the region with consistent quality and personalized attention. The firm’s leadership has stressed that the decision to grow was made with careful consideration of the long-term needs of the communities involved.
This acquisition reflects a broader trend in the funeral profession in which family-owned firms expand their geographic footprint to maintain viability and continuity in local funeral service markets.
Read the article.
Owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home Plead Guilty in State Cases Involving 189 Bodies
More than two years after authorities uncovered 189 improperly stored human remains at a southern Colorado funeral home, the former owners of the business have entered guilty pleas in their state criminal cases, according to the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Channel 9 News reported.
A judge accepted the plea agreements that will result in Jon Hallford being sentenced to between 30 and 50 years and Carie Hallford to between 25 and 35 years, according to a follow-up report.
Court filings show that Jon Hallford pleaded guilty to 191 criminal counts, while Carie Hallford admitted guilt on 45 counts. As part of the agreements, prosecutors dismissed charges related to theft, forgery and money laundering.
Both defendants had previously entered guilty pleas to corpse abuse charges in November 2024, but a judge rejected those agreements earlier this year, an uncommon move that sent the cases back to negotiations.
The Hallfords were arrested in Oklahoma in November 2023 following a monthslong investigation that began after complaints of a strong odor coming from the funeral home’s Penrose facility, located roughly two hours south of Denver. Investigators later determined that between 2019 and 2023, the couple had stored nearly 200 bodies at the property rather than cremating them as promised. Families were allegedly given false cremated remains in place of their loved ones’ cremated remains.
When authorities entered the building in 2023, they found bodies piled throughout a small, insect-infested structure. The discovery forced many families to confront the reality that their relatives had not been cremated. Prosecutors said that in at least two instances, the wrong body had been buried. Family members reported severe emotional distress, with some describing lingering guilt, disrupted grief, and ongoing trauma tied to the revelations.
The case has renewed scrutiny of Colorado’s funeral service oversight, which is among the least stringent in the nation.
Read the initial report and the follow-up report.
Retired Minnesota Funeral Director Charged in Decades-Old Case Involving Woman’s Missing Skull
A former Minnesota funeral director is facing felony charges tied to the post-mortem decapitation of a woman whose skull was discovered in western Wisconsin nearly 25 years ago, according to a Minnesota Star Tribute report.
Benjamin Carl Hanson, 57, of Bayport, was charged in St. Croix County Circuit Court with two felony counts—concealing a corpse and felony theft—stemming from the handling of the remains of Alice Catharina Peterson. Peterson, a Stillwater resident, died in 2001 at the age of 92.
Hanson, who is no longer practicing as a funeral director, was taken into custody and released on bond, and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 26.
Investigators confirmed earlier this year that a human skull found in Wisconsin belonged to Peterson after decades of DNA and genealogical testing. Despite the charges now filed, authorities say questions remain about whether the cremated remains provided to Peterson’s family following her death were actually hers.
The skull has been the subject of intermittent media coverage since it was discovered in 2002, including renewed attention on major anniversaries of the case.
In 2021, the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office turned to the nonprofit DNA Doe Project in an effort to identify the remains. Genetic analysis pointed to Swedish ancestry, and genealogical research eventually led investigators to Peterson, who was born Alyce Philen and later changed her name. DNA from a niece ultimately confirmed the identification.
Court filings outline both the scientific work that solved the identity of the skull and the investigative steps that led authorities to Hanson. However, the records do not explain why Peterson’s skull was removed or how it came to be discarded in a wooded area.
According to the criminal complaint, hikers from the Andersen Scout Camp in Houlton, Wisconsin, discovered a trash bag in a ravine in October 2002. Inside was a human skull in an advanced state of decomposition. Medical experts later determined that the skull had been deliberately separated from the body at the base of the neck, likely using a hand saw.
Peterson died on July 23, 2001, at Regions Hospital in St. Paul after suffering an aortic aneurysm. Medical records indicate her body was intact at the time of death. Funeral arrangements were handled by Simonet Funeral Home in Stillwater, and she was cremated two days later at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Maplewood. Her ashes were given to a woman who had been cared for by Peterson as a child and were later spread on a family farm.
Read the full article.
