NEW ALBANY, Ind — A New Albany funeral home had its licenses suspended after state investigators found it was operating under "dangerous conditions."
Indiana's Attorney General began investigating Spring Valley Funeral & Cremation Services after a consumer filed a complaint with the state office. Investigators determined the funeral home posed a "clear and immediate danger" to public health and safety.
According to a petition filed in July, state compliance officers investigated the property on June 28.
Not only did investigators find 15 cremated remains, who had all died prior to 2024, being stored at the facility, officials also discovered a strong smell of decomposing bodies in the embalming room.
The funeral home's managing director, Trevor Lytle, told them the smell was coming from a body waiting to be transported to a crematory. Investigators said the person had died 11 days prior but had remained unembalmed in the facility.
Investigators also found "blood and other fluids" on various surfaces in the embalming room, as well as several flies and six large medical waste containers. The report noted that one of the investigator's shoes were "covered in a putrid smelling fluid" after inspecting the embalming room and the temperature throughout the facility was around 77 degrees.
Lytle said the waste containers were left the night before by the funeral home's previous owner, Anthony Oxendine.
The report said Oxendine, who doesn't have an active funeral director license in Indiana, lives in an apartment above the facility and has full access to the funeral home.
In a phone call on Wednesday, Oxendine told WHAS11 he no longer lives in the upstairs room and knows nothing about the investigation.
Compliance officers also reviewed two cremation contracts and found discrepancies in service prices. One contract was done for $995, but another received just three days later was completed for $1,200. Lytle could not explain why the value differed from the general price list, officials said.
The State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services held a meeting on August 1 where they questioned Lytle about the inspection. They asked him why the 15 cremated remains where in the building.
"Anthony brought those back from Louisville saying they were New Albany cases," Lytle said. "So I intend to get those all back to those families instead of him to do it."
While looking through documents for deceased individuals, they found a cremated remans release form signed by James Holt.
The report noted that Holt was a former funeral director, hired under the former management, and is currently facing discipline before the funeral board. Holt also isn't registered with the state funeral board as a director for Spring Valley.
Lytle told investigators that Holt is not an employee, but "failed to explain how he could have then signed the release form."
After reviewing the attorney general's petition, the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency suspended the funeral home's license for 90 days and ordered it to cease operations.
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