News Release

Attorney General Todd Rokita

JEFFERSONVILLE — Attorney General Todd Rokita has obtained the emergency license suspension of a Jeffersonville funeral director after police found 31 decomposing bodies improperly stored at a funeral home.

Randy Ray Lankford agreed Friday to surrender licenses for himself and his facility, Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center. Today, the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Service approved the suspensions.

“Our office puts a high priority on protecting Hoosiers from harmful business practices and professional malpractice,” Attorney General Rokita said. “In this case, our Licensing Enforcement team acted swiftly to take the appropriate actions.”

The licenses are suspended indefinitely.

On July 1, Jeffersonville police discovered the 31 unrefrigerated corpses in body bags throughout the funeral home in various stages of decomposition. Some of the bodies had been kept there for an extended period, with at least one of them having been there since March. The officers also found the cremated remains of 17 individuals.

Upon learning of the conditions at the facility, Attorney General Rokita’s team on July 26 filed for emergency license suspensions with the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Service.

“Grieving families must be able to trust that their loved ones’ remains will be respectfully and properly handled,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Further, the unsanitary conditions at this funeral home posed a clear and immediate threat to public health and safety. We are committed to making sure that anyone entrusted with a professional license issued by the state is meeting the required standards.”

Attorney General Rokita expressed particular gratitude to Deputy Attorney General Ian Mathew and investigators Denise Singleton and Lindsey Bruce for their work on this case. He also thanked Jeffersonville police for professionally executing a gruesome task in their inspection of the premises.

An investigation into this matter remains ongoing, and anyone with information that might be helpful is asked to please contact the Attorney General’s Licensing Enforcement Section by calling 1-800-382-5516.