Investigators found the remains of 11 babies and fetuses while searching a shuttered Michigan funeral home.

State inspectors acting on an anonymous tip made the gruesome discovery at the Cantrell Funeral Home in Detroit on Friday, according to ClickOnDetroit. The “badly decomposed” bodies were found in a false ceiling compartment that was only accessible by an attic ladder.

The funeral home was previously owned by Raymond Cantrell II, who inherited the business after his father’s death in 2016. It was shut down in April due to what inspectors called "deplorable, unsanitary conditions," reports the Detroit Free Press.

During their first search early this year, investigators found a dirty embalming room, two molded corpses and another one covered in a mystery liquid. Following those discoveries, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs suspended the mortuary licenses of the home and its manager, Jameca LaJoyce Boone, for “fraud, deceit, or dishonesty, incompetence, and gross negligence in the practice of mortuary science."

Boone claims she didn’t know anything about the hidden remains.

“I really don’t know how that could even have happened,” she told The Detroit News. “It’s very unfortunate, and they definitely need to find out who put them there.”

After receiving a tip in August, the state returned for another search and recovered a fetus and a cremated adult.

Naveed Syed bought the funeral home and planned to turn it into a community center. He said the building had “horrendous smells” and was filthy before he started cleaning. He now believes the smells were coming from the decomposing remains.

"I'm not surprised about the [discovery]," Syed told the Free Press. "These people, the former owners, they were dirty, pitiful people up to no good."

He hopes the community center will facilitate a “healing process.”

Identifying the remains has been difficult for examiners since the Cantrells refuse to assist with the investigation. They were able to determine that most of the remains did not belong to babies, but to fetuses. 

"Of the 11 bodies found, 10 were fetuses," Police Chief James Craig said. "One was full-term. The fetuses were in a cardboard box in the attic; the baby that was full-term was in a little makeshift coffin."

Cantrell apologized and proclaimed his innocence. 

"I didn't go and try to discover things. I was trying to go handling things at hand," Cantrell said. "On behalf of my family, I'm really sorry that it happened and totally appalled. The fact it occurred; I'm just thanking God it wasn't something I had any involvement in.”

Improper disposal of human remains carries a maximum sentence of 10 years according to Michigan law. No charges have been filed against Cantrell, Boone or any of the funeral home’s staff.

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