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HOUSTON - Charges have been dismissed against one of the two Richardson Mortuary directors charged with abuse of a corpse.
Charges dismissed against one Richardson Mortuary director
What we know:
According to court records, the three counts of abuse of a corpse against Gayle Bell were dismissed.
Court documents stated the charges were dropped because "cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt at this time. Subject to refile."
The backstory:
As FOX 26 has reported, court documents revealed multiple bodies were found in various stages of decomposition in a storage room, exposed and with no working air conditioner.
Richardson Mortuary
Dig deeper:
On April 11, 2025, a woman went to Richardson Mortuary after she was denied entry into the building to bring clothes for her mother's funeral, which was scheduled for the following day, documents stated.
When she arrived, she found the back door open with construction workers inside. According to the witness, she found her mother's body decayed and covered in bugs. She also reported seeing other bodies in different stages of decomposition.
The mortuary was described as "very dirty, hot, not sanitary, and under construction with a strong odor of decomposition."
The witness called her brother, who arrived at the mortuary. As FOX 26 previously reported, the brother posted videos to social media saying there were several bodies in the building with no AC. Court documents stated, a crowd gathered after the brother shared the videos online. Several people came to the mortuary looking for their family members, records say.
Southwest Houston: Man stabbed by mortuary worker after finding exposed bodies, officials say
A man was stabbed by an employee at a Houston mortuary after discovering bodies lying around the funeral home, according to officials.
According to the court documents, the owner of Spectrum Deathcare Services stated he received a call from Richardson on April 11, 2025, asking if he could take several bodies to his business' cold storage.
The owner told authorities he went to the mortuary and saw the bodies were not in cold storage, but in a dirty hot room. He said several bodies were in different states of decomposition and one body was "largely liquified."
Richardson and Bell allegedly agreed to meet the owner for storing the bodies, but he has not received compensation, as of Sept. 6, according to records.
Bell claimed Richardson Mortuary was damaged on July 8, 2024, during Hurricane Beryl, court records state. She stated Richardson was responsible for repairs and during that time she did not go into the client preparation area of the building. Bell kept bringing her clients to the mortuary "without inspecting the building or the cold storage cooler," documents say.
Documents say the building had bugs inside, some even covering the bodies.
Authorities say they found about 70 human cremations stored in different parts of the building in inhumane conditions.
The Texas Funeral Service Commission on April 14 ordered Richardson Mortuary to cease and desist all operations immediately.
According to the notice, the commission inspected the business on April 11 and found that the facility failed to meet building, health and safety codes.
The commission says the establishment also "engaged in fraudulent, unprofessional, or deceptive conduct in providing funeral services or merchandise to a customer and engaged in dishonest conduct, willful conduct or negligence in the practice of embalming or funeral directing that is likely to or does deceive, defraud, or otherwise injure the public in violation of TEX. OCC. CODE § 651.459(2) and § 651.459 (3)."
What's next:
The other director, Michael Richardson, remains charged. He is expected to appear in court on May 28.
The Source: Court records, Previous FOX 26 Reporting