Two funeral homes, one of which is owned by a former Louisville mayor hopeful, are being sued by families who allege they were victims of illegal cremations.
In December 2023, the Hinkel family took its matriarch, Charlotte's, body to JB Ratterman's Funeral Home in Louisville. Because the funeral home does not have a cremation facility, despite offering the service on its website, it then sent Charlotte's body to the Cloverport Funeral Home to be cremated, WAVE reported.
The Cloverport Funeral Home is owned by Anthony Oxendine, who ran for mayor in 2022. However, an investigation by the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General in January discovered Cloverport was not a registered or licensed crematory and had completed 290 illegal cremations as a result, according to WAVE.
When the Hinkel family received Charlotte's cremains, they were not given the tags that accompany a person's body before and after cremations, and they are therefore uncertain the cremains belong to her.
"I don't know who is in that box," Charlotte's son, Bobby, told WAVE. "If there's a way to find out and get closure that's all that I need."
The Moore family also went to JB Ratterman's Funeral Home to cremate Ira Ison, a beloved uncle, but his body was reported missing after it was taken to Cloverport to be cremated. The family was later given what they were told were his cremains, but testing revealed it was actually soil.
Both families are suing Cloverport for cremating without a license and JB Ratterman's for entering into an agreement without doing its due diligence into Cloverport.
The Rattermans refused to comment on the ongoing lawsuit but stated they wanted to share their side while Oxendine could not be reached for comment, according to WAVE.
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