Two Kentucky families have filed a lawsuit against J.B. Ratterman & Sons Funerals & Family Cremation Care in Louisville, Kentucky, alleging mishandling and possible mixing up of their loved ones’ ashes.
Bobby Hinkel, who lost his mother, Charlotte Hinkel, in December 2023, became suspicious after receiving her ashes. Unsure whether the remains truly belonged to his mother, Bobby reached out to WAVE to investigate the matter.
The investigation revealed that Charlotte’s body had been sent to Cloverport Funeral Home for cremation after being handled by Ratterman’s funeral home.
However, Cloverport Funeral Home, according to the Kentucky Attorney General’s office, was not licensed to perform cremations. The office’s investigation uncovered 290 illegal cremations at Cloverport, including Charlotte Hinkel’s. The funeral home was subsequently fined $580,000.
Bobby expressed deep uncertainty about the ashes he received: “I don’t know if that’s my mom, I don’t know if it’s somebody else’s. And we’ll probably never know,” he said.
Another case involves Rebecca Moore, whose uncle, Ira Ison, was sent to J.B. Ratterman’s funeral home for cremation. The funeral home owner, Tony Ratterman, reported that Ira’s ashes had been misplaced. When the ashes provided to the family were tested, they were found to be nothing more than common soil, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit affidavit revealed that J.B. Ratterman & Sons did not have on-site cremation facilities and had partnered with Anthony Oxendine, owner of Cloverport Funeral Home, to handle cremations.
Oxendine has a history of professional misconduct. In 2016, he was denied a funeral director license in Indiana, and his previous business, Spring Valley Funeral Home, was permanently closed due to unsanitary conditions and dozens of unclaimed cremains.
Both Oxendine and Ratterman have been named in the lawsuit filed by the families. While Ratterman has issued a denial of all accusations, Oxendine has reportedly not yet been served with the lawsuit.
What was J.B. Ratterman & Sons Funerals & Family Cremation Care thinking?
The decision by J.B. Ratterman & Sons Funerals & Family Cremation Care to outsource cremation services to an unlicensed and questionable facility like Cloverport Funeral Home raises serious ethical, legal and professional concerns.
Critics argue that this decision reflects a blatant disregard for the dignity of the deceased and the trust placed in funeral homes by grieving families.
First and foremost, the choice to partner with Cloverport Funeral Home—a facility without the necessary licensure—demonstrates gross negligence.
Funeral homes are entrusted with the sacred responsibility of handling remains with care and respect. By outsourcing to an unlicensed operator, Ratterman’s funeral home jeopardized the integrity of this process and failed to uphold professional standards.
The $580,000 fine imposed on Cloverport underscores the gravity of these violations, yet no amount of financial penalty can repair the emotional trauma inflicted on the families involved.
Furthermore, the lack of due diligence in selecting a partner highlights troubling lapses in oversight. Oxendine’s track record of professional misconduct, including his denial of a funeral director license in Indiana and the unsanitary conditions discovered at his previous business, should have raised red flags.
It is unacceptable that Ratterman’s funeral home proceeded with this partnership despite these glaring issues. Such decisions call into question the company’s commitment to ethical practices and quality assurance.
The impact on the families affected cannot be overstated. Losing a loved one is already a deeply emotional experience, and the alleged mishandling of ashes only compounds the grief.
Bobby Hinkel’s uncertainty about whether the ashes he received belong to his mother reflects the profound emotional toll of this situation. Similarly, Rebecca Moore’s discovery that her uncle’s ashes were replaced with common soil is a shocking betrayal of trust. These incidents not only undermine the families’ ability to achieve closure but also erode public confidence in the funeral industry as a whole.
Critics also highlight the potential legal implications of these actions. The mishandling of human remains is not merely a breach of professional ethics but may also constitute a violation of state and federal laws.
The lawsuit filed by the families is a necessary step toward holding the responsible parties accountable. However, it also underscores the need for stricter regulations and enforcement to prevent similar incidents in the future.
More so, the denial of responsibility by Ratterman’s funeral home adds insult to injury. Instead of taking accountability for their role in this debacle, the company’s response suggests a troubling lack of empathy for the affected families.
True accountability involves acknowledging mistakes, rectifying harm and implementing measures to ensure that such failures are not repeated.