Police records show officers encountered two bodies in co-owner Clark Morgan’s vehicle in 2024, adding to questions about earlier oversight.
CHICAGO, IL — Police found two bodies in a minivan belonging to funeral operator Clark Morgan outside his Evergreen Park home in June 2024, two years before authorities discovered 56 improperly stored bodies at South Chicago Chapel, according to newly reported police records and body-camera footage.
The earlier encounter is drawing renewed attention as officials examine whether a series of warnings involving Clark and Johanna Morgan should have prompted stronger scrutiny before the August discovery at their South Side funeral home. State disciplinary actions, complaints about another business tied to the couple and later neighborhood concerns about odors all came before authorities entered South Chicago Chapel and found dozens of bodies in various stages of decomposition.
An Evergreen Park officer encountered Morgan’s minivan around 1:45 a.m. on June 14, 2024, after seeing it double-parked near the couple’s home. Police said the officer noticed a strong odor coming from the vehicle and found two bodies in the back. Other officers arrived and confirmed what had been found. Clark Morgan told police he was transporting the bodies from hospice care to Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights and had stopped at home briefly.
Johanna Morgan, who held a funeral director and embalmer license at the time, told officers that transporting deceased people was part of the couple’s work. Police reviewed licensing information and contacted the Cook County medical examiner’s office and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office as part of their follow-up. Officers eventually identified the two deceased people and contacted relatives. Police closed the case after prosecutors determined that the circumstances described to them did not meet criminal requirements.
The licensing history raised another issue. State disciplinary records show Clark Morgan’s authority to practice funeral directing had already been revoked before the minivan encounter. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation had disciplined him after finding that he removed at least two bodies from Northwestern Memorial Hospital using a license with an altered expiration date. He was fined $10,000 and agreed to stop practicing funeral directing in Illinois. State regulators have said credentials he presented during the June 2024 police encounter could not have been valid.
The Evergreen Park investigation also produced another warning. According to police records reviewed by news organizations, an investigator with the Cook County medical examiner’s office told officers that he had filed numerous complaints about unprofessional practices at Heights Crematory. The crematory, which was operated by the Morgans, later came under intense scrutiny over the handling and storage of human remains and was shut down in 2025.
Despite those problems, South Chicago Chapel continued operating at 2939 E. 95th St. in Chicago’s South Deering neighborhood. Records show the office of 10th Ward Ald. Peter Chico contacted city officials in September 2025 after residents complained about odors coming from the funeral home. The office raised concerns twice within about a week and noted the operator’s earlier history involving human remains. A city inspector visited after the first complaint but documented only a short exterior inspection and accepted an explanation that the odor came from burning garbage.
State regulators also had contact with the funeral home before the August discovery. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has said earlier visits did not uncover evidence sufficient to immediately suspend Johanna Morgan’s license. The department opened another complaint after receiving information about possible operational problems on July 31, 2026, and later moved to suspend her license.
Chicago police and state officials went to South Chicago Chapel on Aug. 6 as part of a licensing investigation. During a walk-through, authorities found 56 bodies stored throughout the building without proper refrigeration, according to police reports and state records. Officials described unsanitary conditions involving decomposition and vermin. Authorities also recovered dozens of boxes of cremated remains from the property. The Cook County medical examiner took custody of the bodies and began the process of identifying them.
By Aug. 21, the medical examiner’s office said 47 of the 56 bodies had been identified. Nine remained unidentified as of Aug. 28. Officials said investigators were using available records, fingerprints, dental information and information linked to medical devices as they worked to establish identities. Records reviewed by news organizations indicated the earliest confirmed date of death among the remains was April 19, 2026.
The discovery has led to civil litigation and broader questions about Illinois’ system for regulating funeral homes, crematories and funeral professionals. Chicago filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court accusing the South Chicago Chapel owners and related entities of 23 building-code violations. The city is seeking fines that could reach $11,500 for each day violations remain uncorrected. A separate lawsuit filed by a family member is seeking potential class-action status over the handling of remains.
No criminal charges have been announced against Clark or Johanna Morgan in connection with the 56 bodies found at South Chicago Chapel. Chicago police have said their investigation remains active, while Illinois State Police continue examining conduct connected to Heights Crematory. The earlier minivan encounter, licensing actions and documented complaints are now part of a broader public debate over whether regulators and local agencies had enough warning to intervene sooner.
Author note: Last updated September 2, 2026.