Berks County President Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl has removed Bean Funeral Homes and Cremation Services Inc. as defendants from a lawsuit filed by two assault victims.

Second Deputy Coroner Wally A. Woytovich and nurse’s aide Margaret M. Marino filed suit against Kevin M. Bean in 2006, alleging he assaulted them after Bean’s wife was found dead near the couple’s home.

Bean was convicted of aggravated and simple assault in January 2007, and is serving a one-to-four-year sentence.

The Frank F. Gigler Funeral Home in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania was apparently burglarized after a visitation. The family received about a dozen or so condolence cards from the funeral home after the funeral, but said there had been 75 or more at the viewing. The family believes $800 is missing. Lower Burrell police declined to comment. I suspect they’re reviewing the guest register first.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office made another body error recently.

In 2004, they released the clothing for a homicide victim, but kept Chad Mulvin’s body. The victim’s mother had her son cremated, but didn’t find out for over nine months that she had only his clothing. At some point, when someone wanted to see the victim’s clothing, ME staff members realized their error, and turned over his remains. The county settled a lawsuit for $15,000 over that situation.

Now we hear that the ME office released the wrong body, and shipped it to Jamaica. Kemoy Crawford died in March of 2008, and was supposed to be sent home. This time, the funeral director in Jamaica discovered the error. It cost Allegheny County $9,000 to make it right. Dr. Karl Williams says three employees have been disciplined, and one was fired, and that his office has implemented safeguards to prevent this situation from occurring again.

A church near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is gaining new life. The former St. Joseph’s Church in Port Griffith is being converted to a funeral home, by a member of the old St. Joseph’s Parish. The Township Zoning Board approved the rezoning, with the only stipulation being an opaque fence around the back of the funeral home.