State Shuts Down Michigan Cemetery For Multiple Violations

State officials have shut down Knollwood Cemetery in Canton Township due to violations discovered during the investigation into Perry Funeral Home in Detroit.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs said investigators found gross negligence in the improper storage of remains, they announced Thursday.

The cemetery was fined $135,000 due to multiple violations of the state's Cemetery Regulation Act. Inspectors said Knollwood Cemetery demonstrated a lack of integrity to protect the public and a "lack of good moral character."

The violations included:

• Twenty-seven plastic containers containing an undetermined number of uncremated remains lacked the appropriate documentation, including, but not limited to, incomplete or missing burial transit permits, death certificates, and “Final Disposition of Stillbirth” forms.

• In some cases, Knollwood obtained possession of deceased infants without first being expressly directed or authorized to do so by a relative of the deceased persons or a person entitled to custody.

• By storing the uncremated remains on behalf of Perry Funeral Home, Knollwood aided and abetted Perry Funeral Home, a person not licensed, in the practice of funeral directing.

• In other cases, Knollwood, after agreeing to provide for the final disposition of a dead human body, failed or refused to properly dispose of the infants for more than 180 days after the date it took possession of the infants in violation of the Michigan Penal Code, which is also a violation of the Occupational Code, the Cemetery Regulation Act, and the Prepaid Funeral and Cemetery Sales Act.

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