Nevada revokes Las Vegas funeral home license after finding 146 bodies in unsanitary conditions, some uncremated for nearly a year.

Las Vegas

State investigators have revoked the license of McDermott's Funeral and Cremation Service in Las Vegas after discovering unsanitary and hazardous conditions inside the facility. The Nevada Funeral Board's report detailed bodies stacked and left to decompose, with fluids leaking between remains and improper storage practices observed.

A total of 146 bodies were recovered and transferred to another funeral home for proper care. Families affected by the closure have expressed distress over the treatment of their loved ones. The funeral home's management disputes the findings, claiming the inspections were baseless and that they were not given a fair chance to address the issues. All recovered bodies have been identified, and the situation remains under review.

Las Vegas funeral home license revoked after disturbing discovery

We begin with the fight for local families. Hello and thank you so much for joining us tonight. Live at 6, I'm Abel Garcia. And I'm Tricia Keene. A Las Vegas crematorium that once branded itself as a place of care and compassion in our community has been shut down. State investigators say conditions inside McDermott's Funeral and Cremation Service were so unsanitary and dangerous that they revoked its license. Now nearly 150 local families are left to figure out what happened to their loved ones' bodies. Senior reporter Alyssa Bethancourt spoke with some of them who say the pain they're feeling is like nothing they've ever experienced. And while this is an important story to tell, we do want to warn you that some might find the following images and descriptions disturbing. From the outside, investigators say you wouldn't believe what happened behind these walls. But an extensive report released by the Nevada Funeral Board paints a horrifying picture of bodies stacked, left to rot, and being handled without the dignity families expected. Michael Trotta runs a graphic design business right next to McDermott's funeral home. So when he learned what investigators uncovered and saw the signage here blacked out, he decided to put up new ones. According to Metro, most of the bodies that he had stacked up were stacked up against my wall. It smelled so bad. Trotta tells me the smell started months ago. What he didn't know, dozens of bodies were being left to decompose. According to the state funeral board's investigation, photos showed stained sheets and so much more. In one inspection, an investigator documented fluids from a body dripping onto another body below. In another case, they found a body left in a cooler without a lid, the face fully visible. They told me that she was in a cooler that was above 80 degrees. They told me there were blood splatters, that the walls were taped. Colleen Baez's mother was among the 146 bodies eventually recovered from the business. Her body already had mold on it, that her limbs were decomposing, and that she had extreme skin slip. So even if they did let me see my mom, her face, it wouldn't have been recognizable anyway. After McDermott's was shut down, all the recovered bodies were placed in the care of Davis Funeral Home, where the coroner says staff are working carefully, calling the scale of the situation overwhelming. For Trotta, he says the fallout continues. After posting these signs with McDermott's funeral director's name and number, he says they were later taken down, and now his landlord wants him out. Why take this extra step? So this way if families come, they have a phone number at least to call. And the Clark County coroner confirms all 146 bodies have been identified. I did reach out to the team here at McDermott's multiple times for an interview, and to get their side of things, but all of my requests have gone unanswered. In the meantime, families like the Baez's are left grieving, not just their loss, but how their loved ones were treated here. Reporting in Las Vegas, I'm Melissa Bethancourt. Now in an email to Channel 13, McDermott's general manager called the inspections baseless, saying the board deprived the business of the opportunity to address each matter individually. They went on to say, quote, supporters are calling on Governor Joe Lombardo to review the case, restore McDermott's license, and hold the Nevada Funeral and Cemetery Services Board accountable for procedural fairness.

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