Not Again: 13 Decomposing Bodies Discovered in Unlicensed New York Funeral Home
It’s happened again. Authorities have found 13 bodies in various states of decomposition in a supposedly-shuttered funeral home run by a funeral director with a revoked license.
Court filings allege that funeral director Michael Naughton, 55, knowingly operated Camelot Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon, New York without the proper licensing, and in the process kept 13 bodies in various locations across the property — even in a garage. Investigators also reported that none of the bodies had associated death certificates.
Naughton was arrested on Friday, January 30 and charged with operating without a license, which is a misdemeanor. On February 4, Naughton pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released without bail. He is due back in court on February 19.
Another horrific discovery
The arrest stemmed from a Department of Health inspection on the same day that found tarp-covered bodies in “two marked chapel rooms, the preservation room, a hallway and in the garage, where two of the three bodies there were stacked together.” The criminal complaint also mentions that 17 labeled boxes of cremated remains were found in the basement.
Naughton admitted that he had handled “more than 20 funerals since August” despite the fact that his funeral directors license had been revoked in 2019 and his funeral home was shut down in May 2025 by the New York Bureau of Funeral Directing. Camelot Funeral Home does not have a current website, but the last funeral announced on the organization’s Facebook page was held on June 9, 2024.
Naughton also told News 12 Westchester that “he was shocked by his arrest and is trying to assist the families that he was serving,” and that “he’s waiting to share more as he seeks legal counsel.”
Not his first charge
According to The Journal News, Naughton and Camelot Funeral Home are not strangers to controversy — or to the courts. The News found “more than $50,000 in unpaid judgments against Camelot over the past three years. They range from nearly $5,000 owed to a Brooklyn funeral home and $3,355 to an oil company to multiple $1,000-plus judgments owed to the state labor department. There are also judgments of $15,000 and $21,000 for failing to carry workers compensation insurance.”
In addition, The News reports “a $3,823 judgment in favor of a Mount Vernon woman who sued Camelot and Naughton — though he’s named Michael North in the judgment — because she was never refunded pre-paid money for her mother’s funeral in 2023.”
Lastly, The News reported that Camelot Funeral Home was closed for an undisclosed period in 2021.
Needless to say, community members have shared their outrage on various social media channels, including the Facebook page of Mt. Vernon NewsCenter, which uncovered a disturbing photo of Naughton being honored at a gala in May. The photo, taken at the “prestigious Buddy White Project Annual Black Tie Gala,” shows Naughton “standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard. Both were reportedly honored that evening for their ‘remarkable contributions to our community.’”
And as if that weren’t enough, earlier last year another deeply disturbing case unfolded at Davis Mortuary in Pueblo, Colorado. During a regulatory inspection — part of the aftermath of the Return to Nature tragedy — officials found multiple decomposing bodies hidden behind a concealed door, some reportedly stored for up to 15 years. Authorities believe family members were given fake cremains while actual remains were allowed to decay unseen. (Connecting Directors)
