Man Whose Body Stolen From IL Funeral Home Leaves 12 Kids Behind

ROCKFORD, IL — The Rockford man who died last week and whose body was inside a van stolen from a local funeral home and later found in Chicago leaves behind 12 children and four grandchildren, his mother said.

Curtis Brown, 47, died of natural causes last week, the county coroner said. On Thursday, his mother set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to pay for her son’s funeral. On the page, she described Brown as a great son and loving father of 12 children and grandfather to four.

She said that Brown was at his job when he fainted and later died.

“My son is at peace with the Lord, and I need a little help putting him away,” wrote his mother, who lives in Tupelo, Miss., and who did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the incident involving her son's body.

The fundraising effort hopes to collect $4,000 for funeral expenses. As of Thursday, the GoFundMe had raised more than $700.

The fundraising effort comes a day after Winnebago County prosecutors announced criminal charges had been filed against Deon Howard, 23, of Rockford. Howard, who is not in custody, was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and abuse to a corpse.

Police said that Howard is wanted in connection with stealing a van that was left unlocked and running in front of Collins & Stone Funeral Home last weekend. The county coroner's office said that Brown died on Jan. 19 and that his body was turned over to the funeral home staff after it was released from the hospital.

The van was found on Chicago’s South Side, but police said that Brown’s body was not in the van when it was found. However, on Monday, police said that the body had been found outside a home on Manistee Avenue in Chicago.

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