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Bodies of 11 people including infants 'found rotting in funeral home'

A mortician is accused of leaving 11 deceased bodies, including infants, to rot at his funeral home.

The remains were "in various stages of decay and mummification" and were found after complaints from family members of the deceased, officials in Los Angeles, US, say, the NY Post reports.

Mark Allen, the former owner of a funeral home in Sun Valley, allegedly failed to properly maintain and bury non-cremated human remains, the LA City Attorney’s Office said in a statement last week.

The Mark B. Allen Mortuary and Cremations Service in Sun Valley, Los Angeles
The Mark B. Allen Mortuary and Cremations Services has since been shut down. Source: AP

Officials said the bodies were discovered by authorities on two separate occasions over the past year, the publication reports.

When officials found the remains, they reportedly saw a "swarm of flies buzzing around" the unit’s exhaust vent and noted a foul smell, according to a petition filed by the state Cemetery and Funeral Bureau.

The petition called for The Mark B. Allen Mortuary and Cremations Services to be shut down. It is now closed.

City Attorney Mike Feuer said the deaths of the 11 people is a "tragedy", but the "alleged monstrous mistreatment is a second tragedy".

Man working inside morgue
Family members of the deceased had complained, prompting an investigation. Source: Getty

"We’re fighting to get justice for these families in this incredibly sad and shocking situation," he told The Post.

"Eleven people died, including very young children, and the funeral director hired to compassionately prepare the bodies for burial allegedly just let them rot, with neither the decency nor the dignity that all our loved ones deserve," he added.

Allen faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison and could also be fined more than A$155,000 - A$14,123 for each of the 11 bodies.

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