Marion Graham Mortuaries

Howell Morning Glory Chapel Incident

To tell the story of the Marion Graham Mortuaries, we have to go back to June 7, 1988, when several decomposing bodies were found inside the Howell Morning Glory Funeral Home. A total of 36 bodies, including one fetus and three sets of body parts, were uncovered inside the building. The cremated remains of 26 others were also found. Some of the bodies were on the floor of the funeral home. Two decomposing, unembalmed bodies were found in a decaying hearse—one was wrapped in sheets, and the other in a plastic bag. A few days later, a more thorough search uncovered more bodies stacked in a closet, some having been in the building for as long as a decade.

Most of the dead were poor and indignant or did not have relatives. The owner, Lewis J. Howell, was being paid by the city between $100 and $450 to have the bodies buried or cremated. Howell said the money the city paid him didn’t cover his costs and that people frequently left him bodies without instruction. As part of the investigation, three caskets buried by the funeral home at Hillside Cemetery, a “pauper’s cemetery” where the city’s indigent population are buried, were exhumed and found to contain a total of eight bodies and “a bag of mixed bones.” The city was unaware that the state also had several issues with Howell in the past.

Previous Violations

In 1982, after a routine inspection of the Morning Glory Chapel at the 600 block of Florida Avenue on Jacksonville’s Eastside, Howell was cited for keeping rusty embalming tools and performing embalmings on a plywood table instead of a stainless steel one. Officials also found that Howell was practicing with a lapsed license. According to records, he sent a check to renew his license, but it bounced twice. Due to this, the state Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers suspended his license in April 1983. After a favorable inspection a month later, though, the board overturned the suspension and placed Howell on probation for two years.

In May 1987, Howell was cited again for unsanitary and unhealthy conditions. Investigators discovered bodily fluids on the tables and floor and noted a “repulsive odor.” Inspectors returned a month later and found the issues had been corrected. The state inspects funeral homes every two years, but because of Howell’s performance, they came a year early on June 6th, and that is when the bodies were discovered.

Reaction to these Atrocities

Howell was convicted of felony grand theft for accepting money for funerals that were not performed. He was sentenced to one year in prison but served under three months and was released in February 1989.

In light of the incident, Marion Graham, chairman of the state Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, put forth a plan of action that led to a tightening of Florida’s regulations of the funeral industry. The scope of the state inspections of funeral homes was expanded, increasing the number of assessments to once a year, further follow-up inspections, and harsher fines and penalties for violating state and health standards.

Graham had been the funeral director of Morning Glory Funeral Home before Howell bought it in 1978. Despite these changes to Florida’s funeral industry, Marion Graham would have never foreseen this occurring again, although this time, at his own funeral home.

Marion Graham Mortuaries Incident

In September 2023, Ola Mae Brown Jackson passed away from cancer, and her funeral was held at Marion Graham Mortuaries. After the viewing, though, her family could not get in touch with Graham to get her remains. They had opted for a cremation, and after months of not hearing back from the funeral director, Jackson’s husband, Johnnie, decided to go to the mortuary himself.

Mae Jackson, Johnnie’s sister, explained, “Johnnie stopped and said where’s my wife’s remains? “At that point, he [Graham] went inside. Stayed inside for 45 minutes. Never allowed him to go into the building, so of course, at that point, Johnnie started feeling suspicious.” Johnnie was given a box, and he was told it was his wife’s remains. However, feeling skeptical, the family filed a complaint with the state, leading to an investigation.

The Investigation

Because the suspected crime of improper preservation of human bodies is a misdemeanor, investigators were only able to get a search warrant because the amount of money alleged to have been mishandled amounted to grand theft, which is a felony.

According to the arrest warrant for Elliot Maurice Graham, the funeral home’s director, state investigators entered the Marion Graham Mortuaries funeral home in Jacksonville on January 30th after spending weeks trying to contact him for an inspection. They said they found three decomposing bodies infested with bugs inside the abandoned building. Officers also believed Graham was sleeping in the abandoned structure, stating that mattresses, blankets, and pillows were also found.

Graham is also accused of false insurance claims, stealing tens of thousands of dollars from customers, and stealing up to $750 from a foundation that helps grieving families pay for a child’s funeral costs. It was later revealed Graham deposited money he received for pre-paid funerals for nine living customers from 2020 to 2022 into his personal bank account, totaling more than $90,000.

Aftermath

After the discoveries, several families contacted Action News Jax to describe their awful experience with Marion Graham Mortuaries. Winston Ware, who worked for the City of Jacksonville as a superintendent for streets and drainage, passed away in November 2022. His daughter, Taslesa Ware, told Action New Jax there were many issues. Documents were lost, her father’s clothes were misplaced, and the funeral home had an awful smell. “It just smelled like bodies,” she said. “She [her family member] was able to go in and actually see my father once they claimed they had him ready. She came back, and she just broke down in tears and said no, you cannot see him like that.”

On May 2, 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that will give the state more authority to investigate derelict funeral homes. The bill allows investigators to immediately enter and secure a funeral home in an emergency, including when it’s abandoned. The law also makes the mishandling of remains a felony. Marion Graham Mortuaries remains abandoned, although it is likely to be demolished sometime in the future.

Chapter 497of the 2024 Florida Statutes Part III subsection (5) of section 497.386 reads, “In the event of an emergency situation, including the abandonment of any establishments or facilities licensed under this chapter or any medical examiner’s facility, morgue, or cemetery holding facility, the department may enter and secure such establishment, facility, or morgue during or outside of normal business hours and remove human remains and cremated remains from the establishment, facility, or morgue.”

Photo Gallery