Man Accused of Improperly Storing Human Remains Due in Court

A former Boston funeral director is due to appear in Suffolk Superior Court Wednesday on a 278-page indictment charging him with stealing money from clients, keeping the remains of 12 human bodies in a pair of storage spaces, and acting as a funeral director without a license.

Joseph O’Donnell, 56, of Mattapan, allegedly stored human remains in East Somerville and Weymouth storage facilities. He’s also charged with taking $12,000 from an elderly couple to cover two funerals that he never conducted.

According to prosecutors, O’Donnell’s funeral license expired in 2009, but he kept conducting business through 2013.

The Suffolk County DA’s office said cremated remains were found at a storage facility on Linwood Street in Somerville back in July of 2014. Additional remains were uncovered in a Weymouth storage unit just one day later.