SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — More news in the story of a one-day-old stillborn child who was supposed to be cremated in Dallas, but was found with the linens at a Shreveport contract cleaning service. The funeral home responsible has had other issues.
Golden Gate Funeral Home was already under investigation by the Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) for separate allegations and has been in trouble before.
In January 2022, fourteen lawsuits were filed against Golden Gate Funeral Home for mishandling bodies.
With the new allegations added to the current investigation, the Commission is reassessing Golden Gate’s compliance history.
TFSC Executive Director Scott Bingaman said, “Every Texan deserves both protection from predatory practices and the ability to voice concerns about the services they receive. This case has created unnecessary and deeply distressing obstacles for a grieving family due to alleged negligence. The Commission is committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation to determine whether the child’s remains were mishandled. If violations are substantiated, appropriate enforcement actions will be taken.”
Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, the Commission is unable to release further details.
On May 28th, Shreveport police are piecing together the events that led up to a gruesome discovery at a local dry cleaner after a deceased one-day-old infant was found.
Police say they were alerted at around 9 p.m. after receiving a call from employees of Alsco Uniforms. When officers arrived, they initially believed the infant was a doll wrapped in linens; however, on close inspection, the employee realized the remains were those of a small child.
According to the Shreveport police, the deceased baby was found in a shipment of linens posted from ‘Golden Gate Funeral Home‘ in Dallas, Texas.
SPD says the baby had been embalmed and showed slight signs of decomposition.
Police immediately contacted the funeral home and learned the baby died on May 3rd. The one-day-old infant’s funeral service was held at the Golden Gate Funeral Home on May 17, where the body was scheduled for cremation.
“Detective on scene even told me it it smelled strongly of formaldehyde, which is something that’s not typical, of any of our crime scenes, and that’s when they began to realize that the child had already been embalmed or what they believe was embalmed and just a very bizarre set of circumstances,” said Corporal Chris Bordelon.
However, authorities are trying to figure out how and why the baby ended up in Shreveport. Their preliminary findings indicate that the infant’s remains were mistakenly transported along with soiled linens.
“It presents issues because typically, when we have a child death in Louisiana, we have an autopsy. This is not really a child death in Louisiana. However, we don’t come across finding children that didn’t die in Louisiana … in Louisiana. This is a very strange set of circumstances that we’re writing the book as we go on this one,” says Corporal Bordelon.
The baby was found wearing embroidered clothes with the initials “K.M.” on them. Police say they do not suspect foul play but are investigating the negligence involved in this bizarre incident.
According to Corporal Bordelon, the Texas Funeral Home Commission has been contacted, and they’ll be partnering with authorities to investigate the incident.
The Caddo Coroner is in possession of the baby’s body, and they are working to get the one-day-old back to the family in Dallas.
“This is a deeply distressing situation,” said Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith. “Our thoughts are with the family of the child as this investigation unfolds.” No foul play is suspected at this time, but the investigation remains ongoing.
This is a developing story.