State board exonerates Moles funeral home from improper body storage

The Washington State Funeral and Cemetery Board unanimously exonerated Moles Farewell Tributes and Crematory from any wrongdoing in bodies that were found mishandled earlier this year.

Whatcom County and the state opened investigations into an incident where two human remains became severely decomposed after they were left unrefrigerated over a weekend in mid-May at Moles’ Bayview Chapel in Bellingham.

The state funeral and cemetery board closed the complaint during its November 20 meeting, wrote Christine Anthony, digital communications manager at Washington State Department of Licensing, in an email to The Northern Light.

“The funeral and cemetery board investigation found that the remains were in the care of and under the jurisdiction of the county medical examiner’s office at the time, so they found that Moles funeral home didn’t violate any rules or laws,” Anthony said.

The medical examiner’s office had been renting space at Moles to use as a morgue and autopsy area while renovations were underway at the medical examiner’s downtown Bellingham office.

Moles president John Moles had stated Moles was solely operating as the landlord for the medical examiner’s office. The funeral home and crematory ended its contract with the medical examiner’s office shortly after the incident.

“We’re grateful that the funeral and cemetery board agreed with our position that the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office was responsible for the two decedents,” Moles wrote in a statement after the board’s vote.

The county hired Bellingham-based attorney Kris Bundyto investigate the incident. Bundy found the medical examiner’s office had deficient practices when handling the remains and that it was an isolated incident. After the report was published in early August, Whatcom County entered legal negotiations with then-medical examiner Dr. Allison Hunt to end her contract and began searching for a new medical examiner.

Whatcom County Council unanimously confirmed Dr. Aldo Fusaro as medical examiner during its November 6 meeting. Fusaro has also been working as the interim medical examiner since September.