AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A North Texas husband and wife charged with abuse of corpses after their funeral home closed have failed to get their operating license renewed.
The Texas Funeral Service Commission in Austin on Tuesday held a hearing but did not act on the permit renewal request from Dondre Johnson and Rachel Hardy-Johnson.
The Johnson Family Mortuary in Fort Worth shut down in July after the building owner faced eviction for nonpayment of rent.
The mortuary operating license expired in late July, after several unrefrigerated corpses were discovered at the site. The Johnsons were charged with seven misdemeanor counts of abuse of a corpse. They also face several complaints filed with the commission.
The couple, who’ve denied wrongdoing, declined comment following Tuesday’s hearing. Messages left Wednesday with the commission weren’t immediately returned.