Graham funeral home director faces allegations

GRAHAM, NC (AP) — A funeral home director in Graham who left a
decomposing body in a hearse last summer will have to answer to the
Office of Administrative Hearings in Raleigh next month.

The Burlington Times-News said Friday police found the body of
37-year-old Linda Walton in the hearse behind David B. Lawson
Funeral Home last August after a foul smell was reported.

Lawson told investigators he was awaiting paperwork for
cremation from the Orange County’s Department of Social Services.
No family claimed her body.

Lawson also faces allegations about a $3,700 refund to another
family for a pre-arranged funeral last May.

Lawson voluntarily surrendered his license to issue pre-need
funeral contracts June 2007. He has never reapplied for the
license.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)