The city of Los Angeles has filed 22 criminal charges against Mark Allen, the former owner of Mark B. Allen Mortuary & Cremation Services in Sun Valley, after non-cremated remains of 11 people, including infants, were found in various stages of decay and mummification on two occasions in the last year.
The discovery of the remains was made by the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, the L.A. County Coroner’s Office and the Los Angeles Police Department. An investigation was opened into Allen and his services after complaints were made by next-of-kin.
The mortuary is now closed.
“We’re fighting to get justice for these families in this incredibly sad and shocking situation,” said Mike Feuer, L.A. city attorney. “Eleven people died, including very young children, and the funeral director hired to compassionately prepare the bodies for burial allegedly just let them rot, with neither the decency nor the dignity that all our loved ones deserve. Their deaths are one tragedy, and this alleged monstrous mistreatment is a second tragedy.”
For each of the 11 bodies, Allen was charged with violating California Health and Safety Code. One section of the code states that “every person who deposits or disposes of any human remains in any place, except in a cemetery, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Another section applies to Allen’s role as a funeral director, and states that a violation of the section “shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both that imprisonment and fine.”