Lawsuit filed against Jeffersonville funeral home

Jul. 6—JEFFERSONVILLE — A civil lawsuit has been filed against a Jeffersonville funeral home after investigators found decomposing bodies and post-cremation remains in the facility.

On July 1, 31 bodies and 16 post-cremation remains were discovered throughout Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center, 3106 Middle Road. On Tuesday, a lawsuit against the funeral home was filed with Clark Superior Court No. 6.

Jeffersonville attorney Larry Wilder filed the lawsuit on behalf of Cynthia Faye Cook and Jeffrey Lorey, who believe that the funeral home mishandled their daughter's remains and lied about the status of the remains.

The plaintiffs are seeking financial relief and a jury trial due to suffering of "emotional and physical trauma, anguish and distress due to the intentional infliction of emotional distress perpetrated by the defendants," according to the filing.

Major Isaac Parker of the Jeffersonville Police Department previously told the News and Tribune that some of the bodies were in advanced stages of decomposition. The case is under investigation by the Jeffersonville police and other agencies.

The Clark County Coroner's Office and Jeffersonville Police Detective Division are working to identify the remains found at the funeral home.

According to the filing, 34-year-old Nicole Lorey died June 14 in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and the Hardin County Coroner's Office referred her parents to Lankford Funeral Home.

The filing says the family requested the cremation of their daughter's remains, and the family contacted the funeral home multiple times and spoke with the owner, Randy Lankford, to ask about the status of their daughter's remains.

Lankford told the family that "Nicole's remains were being cared for and that the task of cremation was scheduled to take place and that the family would be notified," according to the filing.

The family was later told by Lankford the cremation had already taken place, but he told them that the urn had not yet arrived and could not yet release her remains, the lawsuit states.

The filing says the family "reasonably believes" that their daughter's remains were not cremated and were among the 30 other deceased individuals found at the funeral home.

Wilder had not responded to the News and Tribune's request for comment as of publication time.

Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull told the News and Tribune Wednesday that he is still waiting to receive reports from the police regarding the investigation at the funeral home. He said once he receives the reports, he will "review to determine whether any charges are appropriate."