11 BABIES Found Inside Abandoned Funeral Home
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Published 2022-01-02
Cantrell Funeral Home first opened in 1955 when owner Raymond Cantrell Sr. opened his first funeral home at the corner of Kercheval and Montclair on Detroit's east side. The funeral home was an immediate success for Cantrell and he soon needed a larger building.
In 1964, he finally moved Cantrell Funeral Home to the same location that you not only see in the video but also where all of this tragedy took place, which was 10400 Mack Ave again on Detroit's east side.
Unfortunately, Raymond Cantrell Sr. passed away in 2016 and his son Raymond Cantrell II took over the funeral home. Raymond Cantrell Sr. owned and operated the legendary Cantrell Funeral Home for over 60 years at the time of his death.
Both before his death and since his death in 2016, the funeral home was continuously plagued by "jaw-dropping" violations. Over the years, violations continued to pile up against Cantrell Funeral Home and prompted visits from state investigations many times from the 1990's through its final closure in 2018.
Finally in 2018, the State Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs suspended the funeral home license of Cantrell Funeral Home after they investigated allegations made against the funeral home. They suspended their license based on incompetence, gross negligence, and improperly stored bodies. During that same investigation, officials also uncovered almost 300 containers of cremated remains in the basement, and at this point still unaware of the other dark secrets still lurking inside.
Later in 2018, state investigators again returned to Cantrell Funeral Home after an anonymous phone call led them to where they could find numerous corpses hidden throughout the funeral home. Investigators ended up finding a still-born infant corpse hidden in a box. Upon further investigation and another search, they found 11 more bodies of deceased infants, ranging from gestation up to only a couple of months old - and some of them even appeared to have been mummified. This discovery proved to be the final "nail in the coffin" as the State of Michigan revoked all licensing for the owners of Cantrell Funeral Home and it was immediately shut down.
In 2019, shortly after the terrifying gruesome discoveries forced the funeral home to immediately close, a major transformation took place inside the old Cantrell Funeral Home as the new owner is turning the space into a community center, a much-needed resource for people in the crime-ridden neighborhood on Detroit's east side.
As of 2022, the former Cantrell Funeral Home is still undergoing renovations to convert it into a community center.
All Comments (21)
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Wow. My infant daughter died and the funeral director did everything for free. He said nobody expects their baby to die so aren't typically prepared.
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I have been in the funeral service industry for several years. This man, and his firm abused these remains in the most disgusting way. He violated the sacred trust that is given to any funeral home tasked with caring for the deceased. He abused his community in ways that is unforgivable. Why it took so damn long to shut him down is beyond me. It became clear to me that he had racked up plenty of violations before the state revoked his license in 2018. My heart goes out to each one of the families affected by this selfish man. It’s tough enough to find enough strength to get through burying a loved one. Imagine how much strength it takes to get through knowing your loved one was discarded like trash. I truly can’t wrap my head around how he can justify keeping babies, in his funeral home ceiling without feeling any sort of shame. I hope he receives a long prison sentence. Again my heart goes out to every one of those victims
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That lady crying about her sister's remains being stuck in there just shattered my heart 💔💔💔💔
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Nobody should ever get into the funeral business unless they have the ABSOLUTE HIGHEST respect for the dead. This is heartbreaking and disgusting that humans could treat other humans, alive and dead like this..💔
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I can't imagine losing my baby and finding out years later that they were in a ceiling the whole time. 😔
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This has to be one of the most disturbing things I've seen in a very long time. RIP to all the souls that were mishandled.
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This makes my blood boil!!! My father was a mortician and funeral director. I grew up in and around funeral homes. I was taught to give the up most respect to the deceased and their families. This is beyond disgraceful and disrespectful! My heart goes out to any and all who had to deal with this funeral home!
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This is heartbreaking. I lost my dad when I was 25. The funeral director was amazing. My heart goes out to these people.
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I can't believe it took so long to revoke all licenses and shut it down.
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I know the grief of losing a newborn baby. Those parents had to go through it twice because of that monster who owned the funeral home. I can't wrap my mind around it. It's a betrayal like no other.
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You did a great job reporting the facts & images to us. I attended a viewing there of a coworker who was shot and killed in a car jacking in 2018. During the early afternoon of her viewing, no one from the funeral staff was there as I was trying to find an employee to let them know that the deceased had blood dripping from her ears and a cotton ball was sticking out of her nose. I was horrified and tried my best to clean it up before her family or children arrived, and when an employee finally showed up, he casually said “I went to grab some food” and he wasn’t in any hurry to offer an apology or explanation for the urgent situation. As her coworkers, we paid for the funeral in full and advance and now I assume the funeral home probably cashed the check before they completed the job and maybe they figured “who cares”. I didn’t want to offend or upset the small family (one out of town sister, 2 young children, boyfriend) so I cleaned her up, kept it to myself waiting for others to arrive. I’ll never forget the way I felt sitting there alone and feeling shocked and sorrowful for the families of Detroit who were being taken advantage of at the most vulnerable and painful times in their lives. Sadly it was confirmed in this video that this was a “business as usual” for these criminals and they kept on doing their thing since they were getting away with it even after being reported. So many sad sides to this story. May those families find peace and be helped by the state to properly receive the remains of their loved ones. 🙏🏼❤
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My dearly departed uncle's funeral was at Cantrell some years ago and to know that while we were there, there were remains of souls handled in such a disgusting manner! This is insane
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My former mother in law's services were held by Cantrell. I was mortified when I heard this story. To think that there were bodies hidden throughout the funeral home is so disturbing and disrespectful, all the while carrying on like it's everyday business. 💔
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As if losing a baby wasn't hard enough, he figured out how to make it even worse on the family.
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My mom passed away in 2000 and the did a great job with her body and service….Condolences to everyone effected by the gruesome findings 😢🙏🏽
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The new owners of this funeral home making it into a well needed community center will bring life and laughter into its walls and to the neighborhood, thanks for your story, I just found your channel!
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I was a hospice on call nurse working nights and weekends. I was at the bedside for many deaths, and always maintained my patients dignity, I never left their bedside until the funeral home arrived, and I walked out with my patient with my hand on the gurney until they were placed in the hearse. If at ANY time I felt my patient was not being treated right in death, I instantly spoke up, took charge of the situation, and even called to report the removal service or the funeral homes own team to the funeral home owner. I am outraged at what happened here and am hoping that this will tighten regulations on the buisness in general. Horrifying.
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Oh my god! How could this man be so cruel to the grieving families? They had been through enough.
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Absolutely heartbreaking! RIP sweet babies!
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As a member of the profession, I am horrified at hearing this report. I consider it a privilege to be entrusted, by the families, with the care of their loved ones, and consequently treat every deceased person as though they were my own. The criminal activity in this video defies belief; I can only begin to imagine what the families must have gone through, and I pray for them all on behalf of the profession. I only hope that the disgusting individuals responsible for these most insidious crimes got the appropriate treatment by the Courts, though sadly, nothing will ever erase the memories for the families. God bless them.
