Shavonne Morton chose Akes Family Funeral Home to handle her baby's funeral.
She wanted the baby's body to be in good shape for the viewing.
She was given the "runaround" by the funeral home, and now she doesn't know what happened to the body.
The baby girl of Shavonne Morton was stillborn.
She was told at 22 weeks that she had no heartbeat. They decided to have a baby because they wanted a physical body.
The Akes Family Funeral Home was where the couple cremated their first daughter nine years ago.
This time, it was not the same.
Morton and her husband would call the funeral home to inquire about the status of the corpse.
The days became weeks. No calls came back.
Morton said that he was able to view his child before the cremation last time. It was like an excuse.
The family paid full price for the funeral home's services last year, so the lack of communication was particularly upsetting.
It wasn't normal. I don't know if they didn't want me to see her but they wouldn't answer the phone lines.
The family wanted to see the body one last time before cremation. They heard back from the funeral home after a long time. Morton said that the funeral home told them that the family wouldn't want to see her in that state.
Morton wanted her two sons, ages 7 and 13, to see the body in order to know that they would have a younger sister one day. One of her sons was looking forward to meeting his sister. She said he "touched my belly every day" and she wanted him to see her.
She decided to give birth even though they knew she would be dead. Morton was given a choice when doctors told her that her daughter had no heartbeat. She could have the baby vacuumed out through her uterus, or she could give birth and push the baby out.
Morton went through the labor and delivery to make sure she was okay. I could not have her dismembered.
She said that the birth took between two and three hours.
She thought that the body would be able to be taken to the funeral.
Morton said her attorney found a lot of positive reviews on the internet. The reviews soured in the last couple of years.
It's not clear if that's because of the COVID-19 Pandemic or something else.
The process was smooth nine years ago.
Morton thought it was a piece of cake.
She said nobody denied her request that she had been viewed before she died.
She wanted to scatter the remains over the ocean. Her husband thought about what to do with her remains. Neither of them feel like they were given a choice in the matter.
Morton said that he felt robbed of that.
She told Insider that the funeral home promised to contact Morton when the cremation was over.
They didn't. Morton made another call. There was no response again.
She said that she would get the run around from each office. The phones were off the hook. I didn't think that was normal. It feels weird to chase down the remains of a grieving person.
Jamahl visited in person.
Akes has two places. In California, one of its mortuaries is in Corona.
He was told that the remains of Jamila were sent to the one inRiverside. He found out that the mortuary had gone up in flames.
According to an incident report from the fire department, the funeral home caught fire on November 5. There were two buildings that were connected by vent. The main building was spared from the fire. Smoke traveled through the vent and into the main building.
The fire was determined to be accidental by an investigator.
There were multiple computer printers and electronic devices plugged into an electrical outlet that had extensive damage and was completely burned through. Bare wiring had been exposed as the wiring entered and left the outlet burned through the insulation.
Morton isn't sure if her daughter's body was lost in the fire or cremated.
It's so crazy. Morton wasn't sure if something happened to her remains after she was told they had a fire. I'm not sure what to think.
A staff member said someone would eventually contact them. They were reassured by the staff member.
Morton is not sure if he will believe it due to weeks of silence and a lack of communication.
Morton told Insider that he hasn't heard from them since last year.
She is thinking about taking legal action.
She said that unless her husband showed up, she wouldn't know anything.
She said that this could damage families. It hurts. It feels like you don't have any answers. You don't feel like you were treated fairly. It wasn't normal.
Morton said the funeral home changed its mind when she lawyered up. She said that they told her lawyer that the body had been cremated.
Morton didn't know what to think. I'm not sure if that is my daughter. It has been a while.
She said that they were just going off of what they were told. I'm not sure how to tell that it's her remains. It's not really clear. I'm not sure. I just don't feel right.
Some of the firefighters and first responders that responded to the scene on November 5 had to remove bodies from the mortuary. They didn't know who the bodies were removed from the mortuary.
Insider did not get a response from the Akes Family Funeral Home.
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