North Texas

Fort Worth Mortuary Owners' License Not Renewed

A North Texas husband and wife charged with abuse of corpses after their funeral home closed were unable to renew their operating license.

The Texas Funeral Service Commission in Austin held a hearing Tuesday, but did not act on the permit renewal request from Dondre Johnson and Rachel Hardy-Johnson.

The Johnson Family Mortuary in Fort Worth shut down in July after the building owner faced eviction for nonpayment of rent.

The mortuary operating license expired in late July after several unrefrigerated corpses were discovered at the site. The Johnsons were charged with seven misdemeanor counts of abuse of a corpse. They also faced several complaints filed with the commission.

The couple, who've denied wrongdoing, declined comment following Tuesday's hearing. Messages left Wednesday with the commission weren't immediately returned.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us