A funeral director in New York has been busted after he allegedly left decaying corpses near his child’s toys.

The suspect has now turned himself in to the police after numerous complaints were reportedly filed against him and his funeral home.

The police said they had found the remains of four people and the ashes of 18 others being stored at the funeral home after over 24 families came forwards, raising questions about how their loved ones’ bodies had been handled.

The police also said that after contacting the New York State Bureau of Funeral Directors, they had found the suspect had had his funeral director licence suspended in late November 2021.

The suspect, named as Brian M. Barnett, 35, turned himself in to the Johnstown Police Department (JPD) in the US state of New York at approximately 8.25pm on Monday, 7th February, the JPD said in a statement released yesterday (8th February).

The JPD said that Barnett has been arraigned on the following charges: three counts of concealment of human corpse, two counts of grand larceny, three counts of failing to bury a body within a reasonable amount of time, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of operating a funeral home without a licence, and four counts of operating as a funeral director without a valid licence.

The charges reportedly allude to the fact that the funeral director allegedly left decaying bodies near toys belonging to his child, who has not been named, in a building that included both his home and his business.

The Department of Health for the State of New York also alleges that Barnett, along with the Ehle And Barnett Family Funeral Home LLC, violated numerous public health laws.

Johnstown Police Chief David Gilbo had said in January that the suspect had been arrested a first time after the police officers found the remains at the funeral home, which is located at 15 N. William St.

The police chief had said in January that the suspect was later taken to St Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam, a city in Montgomery County, also in the state of New York, to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. It is currently unclear what the outcome of the evaluation was.

The police chief also said that 12 of the 18 boxes had labels on them and six did not, making it difficult to identify the remains inside. They also said that some of these boxes, containing human ashes, were open when they found them.

The police said: “After multiple attempts to reach him, Barnett later contacted Police. Barnett then told Detectives that he still had the human remains at the funeral home and no services had been completed in several weeks. Police were able to get the remains turned over to the A.G. Cole Funeral home for proper services.”

The same statement said that while investigating the suspect, detectives “noted excess furniture and household items, stored around the remains”.

The police also said that “detectives also noted signs of advanced decomposition, due to the improper handling and storage” of the human remains.

The police also searched the suspect’s garage, where they said that “upon searching the garage two additional human remains were located, both in advanced states of decomposition.” The police said that they had also handed these remains over to the AG Cole Funeral Home.

The police have invited anyone who thinks they may have been affected by the incident to contact them. They said: “If families have had services with the Ehle-Barnett funeral home and have not received the remains of their loved ones, they can contact the Fulton County Coroner’s Office or the Johnstown Police Department. We ask that family members have the date, time and location of when their loved one passed away.

“The Johnstown Police Department would like to thank the A.G. Cole Funeral home for the respectful handling of the remains. Family members may also email JPD@cityofjohnstown.ny.gov with any questions regarding this sensitive investigation.”

The police said that Barnett was released pending trial with the next court date set for Tuesday, 15th February. The judge assigned to the case has been named as Judge Traci DiMezza.