Mother claims she has not received her daughter's remains from Richardson Mortuary for 15 months

HOUSTON - Racquel Williams says her baby died 13.5 hours after being born, and she trusted Richardson Mortuary to cremate her child. Instead, nearly 15 months later, she has not received her child’s remains. 

Now, she feels like she lost her baby twice. 

"I wonder if my baby is there, is she secured, did he really cremate her like he was supposed to," said Williams. 

Richardson Mortuary: Mother claims funeral home kept her child's remains

Timeline:

• Racquel Williams said she gave birth to her daughter on January 4th 2024, and her baby died January 5th as a premature baby in the hospital.
• Williams says on January 8th, Richardson Mortuary picked her daughter up from the hospital and that same day, she met the owner to pay for the cremation of her daughter.

"It wasn't no additional price. He just told me to bring him $350. I was trying to give him $25 extra more but he said, ‘No, I’m good,’" Williams said. "All that he gave me was a little copy of the receipt baby saying that I paid for her cremation, said Williams. "You didn't give me no number, nothing."

• Racquel says 6 months after her daughter's death, her baby’s father went to try and get answers, but was told they needed to pay more.
• The months following, she kept getting the runaround. She says it hurt because she saw how they took care of her stepfather in 2021, so she thought they would do the same for her child.

"He's like, 'Well, since I know you and since we already kind of have a history, I'll charge you $350 because your baby was so small. It's no need to have like a service or something,'" Williams said. 

The other side:

We reached out to Richarson Mortuary, but have not received comment. 

Richardson Mortuary under investigation

What they're saying:

FOX 26 reached out to the Texas Funeral Service Commission and asked for comment on their efforts to help retrieve bodies to families after a cease and desist was given to Richardson Mortuary on April 14, 2025. 

This is their response from Scott Bingaman, Executive Director: 

The Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) is actively investigating the situation involving Richardson Mortuary and is committed to ensuring that all decedent remains are treated with dignity and respect during this transition.

However, TFSC’s authority is limited under Texas law in matters involving the direct relocation of decedent remains. Specifically, the legal concept of "First Call"—which marks the initiation of the contractual and custodial relationship between a licensed funeral director and a decedent—establishes a chain of custody that the agency cannot directly interfere with.

While TFSC does not have the authority to independently reassign decedent remains to other funeral establishments, the agency can direct licensees and funeral establishments to coordinate with alternate, properly licensed entities willing to assume custody. In this instance, it has been reported that on April 11, 2025, Richardson Mortuary allegedly sought the assistance of Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center to take custody of the decedent remains previously under their care.

The Commission’s first priority is to ensure that all decedent remains are properly accounted for and next of kin are identified. This, coupled with the findings from the agency’s inspection on April 11, 2025, will serve as the foundation for TFSC’s administrative investigation and guide the agency in bringing this matter to resolution for the affected families.

Fox 26 Legal Analyst explains what families can do if they choose to file a lawsuit 

What's next:

FOX 26 Legal Analyst Chris Tritico says families do have a right to sue. 

"I don’t think that it's going to be any trouble to prove that this was a known violation, so they should be able to get liability on either a breach of contract or the deceptive trade practices act," Tritico said. "If there isn’t insurance to pay for the judgements there's likely to be no money left in the company. For litigation, you have 2 years and a minimum to file 4 years under breach of contract under the deceptive trade practices act. So get your funerals taken care of and your loved ones' remains taken care of then deal with the litigation."

Dig deeper:

Texas Funeral Commission Service ordered Richardson Mortuary to cease and desist operations after officials say bodies were found lying on the ground and on cardboard last Friday.

RELATED: Southwest Houston: Man stabbed by mortuary worker after finding exposed bodies, officials say

HoustonHarris County