Issue #3 · July 14, 2026
100 Bodies in Illinois Trailers; SCI Sells Fewer Funerals for More Money
Illinois found 100 bodies in inoperable crematory trailers and passed a law that does not require inspections. SCI performed 5,872 fewer funerals while raising prices. The FTC may force funeral homes to post prices online. Eight investigations this week.
By Heidi Macomber, Founder, Obitley
Illinois found 100 bodies in inoperable refrigerated trailers at a crematory. The new law it passed does not require routine inspections.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza shut down Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights after inspectors discovered more than 100 deceased individuals stored in refrigerated trailers that were not operational. Bodies had been left in trailers without adequate temperature control.
The Illinois legislature responded by passing HB 4695, signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker on June 26, 2026 as Public Act 104-0501. The law adds civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation, requires written standard operating procedures and medical waste disposal plans at all crematories, and creates a first-of-its-kind 72-hour emergency body possession protocol allowing the state to seize a facility immediately when conditions threaten public health.
But the law does not require routine inspections of crematories. Colorado had zero crematory inspectors until 2024. Maryland discovered its crematory problems through a criminal investigation, not a regulatory inspection. No U.S. state currently mandates unannounced crematory inspections on a regular schedule.
The gap is national. Illinois wrote new penalties after 100 bodies were found in trailers. Whether any state will write a law requiring someone to actually check the trailers is a different question.
Source: Illinois Comptroller press release; HB 4695 (Public Act 104-0501); Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies; Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Finance
SCI performed 5,872 fewer funerals while raising prices 3.4%
Service Corporation International, the largest deathcare operator in North America with 1,514 locations, reported its Q1 2026 earnings. The numbers reveal a company managing a structural decline in volume by raising prices on the families who walk through the door.
SCI performed 5,872 fewer funerals in Q1 2026 compared to the same quarter a year earlier. Average revenue per service rose 3.4% to $5,947. The company sold $306 million in new funeral preneed contracts and $482 million in cemetery preneed.
CEO Tom Ryan emphasized preneed backlog growth on the earnings call. But the core business is contracting. Fewer families. Higher bills. That is the pattern.
Consolidation Watch
SCI authorized $600 million in share buybacks while operating income fell
SCI's board authorized a $600 million share repurchase program. The company carries $5.16 billion in debt with a 3.26x debt-to-equity ratio. Net income fell 4.9% in Q1 2026. Interest costs consumed 26 cents of every dollar of operating income.
The buyback signals confidence to shareholders. It also raises a question for families: when the largest funeral home operator in North America is deploying capital to repurchase stock rather than reinvest in service quality, who pays the difference?
Regulatory Roundup
60% of funeral homes hide their prices online. The FTC may finally act.
An FTC study found that only 40% of funeral homes list prices on their websites. The Funeral Rule has required price disclosure since 1984, but regulators never updated it for the internet era. The FTC is considering a rulemaking that could mandate online price transparency.
Industry groups are pushing back, citing implementation costs. Consumer advocates note that the Funeral Rule exists because funeral homes historically used opaque pricing to exploit grieving families. Moving that exploitation online is not an improvement.
Consumer Protection
Yolo County prosecutors charge two funeral homes with 1,000+ overcharges
The Yolo County District Attorney filed civil charges against two Woodland, California funeral homes, alleging more than $500,000 in overcharges across more than 1,000 families over four and a half years.
According to the complaint, families were charged for services and merchandise they did not receive. In one instance described by prosecutors, a casket was suspended over an open grave rather than lowered into it, while families paid for full-service burial.
Consumer Protection
If you paid for a headstone and never received it, federal prosecutors want to hear from you
Gregory Stefan Jr. defrauded nearly 500 families across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware by accepting headstone payments and pocketing the money. Jeffrey Phares defrauded dozens of families across four West Virginia cemeteries. Both pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges.
The FTC Funeral Rule does not cover standalone monument dealers. No state requires escrow for upfront memorial payments. The gap in the regulatory framework is the story.
Innovation
One company patented the right to turn human remains into stone
Parting Stone received the first U.S. utility patent on a method of solidifying cremated human remains into stone-like pieces, granted March 2026. The company sued a competitor for patent infringement and resolved the case in June.
No regulator reviewed the patent for consumer impact. The case raises a question the deathcare industry has not answered: when a company owns the intellectual property rights to a method of processing human remains, what happens to competition and pricing for families?
On the Horizon
What we are working on next
Three stories are in development for the coming weeks:
- ›Connecticut funeral fraud: CT HB 5381 creates a restitution fund for families defrauded by Pietras Funeral Home in Vernon and Tolland. Research complete, article in draft.
- ›National crematory inspection database: Following the Illinois investigation, we are building a state-by-state database tracking inspection requirements, frequencies, and enforcement records. The data is sparse. That itself is the story.
- ›Oklahoma Funeral Board follow-up: Our investigation into board member John Davenport's conflict of interest has drawn responses from state legislators. We are tracking developments.
By the Numbers
Bodies found in inoperable refrigerated trailers at Heights Crematory in Illinois.
Fewer funerals SCI performed in Q1 2026 vs. Q1 2025, while raising average revenue per service 3.4%.
SCI share buyback authorized while operating income fell and debt stood at $5.16 billion.
Funeral homes that do not list prices online, according to an FTC study.
Families allegedly overcharged by two Yolo County, California funeral homes over four and a half years.
Fraud proceeds collected by a Pennsylvania funeral director for private pet cremations where animals went to a landfill.
From Obitley This Week
8 new investigations published on obitley.com:
100 BODIES IN TRAILERS: Illinois Passed a Crematory Law. The Inspection Gap It Exposed Is National.
Heights Crematory had 100+ bodies in inoperable trailers. The new law adds penalties but no inspection mandate.
FEWER FUNERALS, HIGHER PRICES: SCI's Q1 Reveals a Company Selling Tomorrow's Revenue to Cover Today's Decline
5,872 fewer funerals. Average price up 3.4%. The math of decline.
60% OF FUNERAL HOMES HIDE THEIR PRICES ONLINE: The FTC May Finally Force Them to Show
The Funeral Rule has required price disclosure since 1984. Regulators never updated it for the internet.
IF YOU PAID FOR A HEADSTONE AND NEVER RECEIVED IT: Federal Prosecutors Want to Hear From You
Two fraud cases reveal a gap: the FTC Funeral Rule does not cover standalone monument dealers.
CASKET SUSPENDED OVER AN OPEN GRAVE: A California DA Says Two Funeral Homes Overcharged 1,000 Families
$500,000+ in overcharges. A casket held above the grave. Four and a half years.
$600 MILLION FOR SHAREHOLDERS: SCI Buys Back Stock While Operating Income Falls
Buybacks up. Income down. Debt at $5.16 billion.
YOUR ASHES, THEIR PATENT: How One Company Locked Up the Right to Turn Human Remains Into Stone
The first U.S. patent on solidifying human remains. No consumer review.
6,500 ASHES, ONE LANDFILL: A Funeral Director's Pet Cremation Fraud Exposed a Regulatory Vacuum
No federal agency regulates pet aftercare. $657,517 collected. Thousands of animals dumped.
The Weekly Deathcare Briefing is published every Tuesday by Obitley. If you have a tip, story idea, or correction, reply to this email.
Founder, Obitley · obitley.com
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