Three Bodies, "Other Remains" Found In Garage In Riverdale
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The discovery of human remains on the property of a home in south suburban Riverdale has taken an eerie twist, and Illinois State Police have taken over the investigation.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's office said three bodies and "other remains" were found on the garage of a home in the 13900 block of South Dearborn Street around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
All the bodies were being taken to the medical examiner's office for examination and autopsies. The ages and genders of the bodies have not yet been determined.
Christine Smith said she saw investigators removing the bodies from the garage.
"What freaked us all out was when we saw the funeral casket, because we're like, 'Oh, maybe it's just an old casket, part of his job maybe, I don't know, who knows?' But then when … they opened the stuff, and started taking pictures of the casket, like what was ever inside there, then we're like, 'Oh, no, wait a minute," she said.
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Police spent four hours at the home Wednesday night gathering evidence. Neighbors said, while police were doing their work, the stench around the garage was unbearable at times.
"They just kept pulling out cadavers. It was just, like, what the heck is going on?" Smith said. "We think at first, maybe it's a murder-suicide thing, or maybe somebody … I don't know, but then it was one, and another one, and another one. Then we saw the casket, it was just like, 'Okay, wait a minute, something isn't right with this picture."
Neighbors said one of the people who lived there was Rev. Anton Godfrey, who died less than two weeks ago. Two years ago, the state fined Godfrey $10,000 for acting as a funeral director and embalmer without a license.
Neighbor Carl King said Godfrey's wife hired him to mow the lawn a couple weeks ago, and what he saw outside the garage made him do a double-take.
"I noticed there was four headstones right there. I said 'Wow,'" he said. "At the time, I didn't think too much of it, but I thought it was weird. I mean, how many people do you know who got four headstones in their back yard?"
Illinois State Police have taken over the investigation. So far, police have only said the case is a preliminary death investigation.
Godfrey's daughter did not want to stop for an interview, and expressed shock about what was found in the garage.
