The state Parole Board described his crime as an “abomination.” The attorney general called him a danger to the public. Stephen Finley spent three years in prison for stealing body parts from cadavers that passed through his Newark funeral home. But Finley, free once again, can’t seem to stay away from the dead.
The disclosure that Finley worked with remains — confirmed by two New Jersey funeral home owners with detailed knowledge of his employment — has elicited fury and astonishment from victims’ relatives, who contend he shouldn’t be permitted anywhere near the deceased.
The finding also has sparked an inquiry by the state Division of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the boards that regulate funeral directors and cemeteries.
Read the story on NJ.com (June 16, 2013)
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
➽ Essex County Prosecutor’s Office failed to notify victims’ relatives that bodies were stolen (March 28, 2010)
➽ Ex-Newark funeral director convicted of selling body parts is denied parole (June 29, 2010)
Mark Mueller Journalism 