What did Elliott Graham do? Jacksonville funeral director arrested after bodies found in abandoned mortuary

Marion Graham Mortuaries funeral home director Elliott Graham, 49, was arrested on Friday, February 2, 2024, after three bodies were found inside an abandoned funeral home. According to Law and Crime, investigators made the discovery on Thursday while serving a search warrant at an abandoned funeral home in Jacksonville, Florida.

The search warrant was prompted by an investigation from Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ office, which received a complaint about the funeral home’s unethical practice.

Elliott Graham, who is accused of giving families fake ashes of the deceased, was charged with grand theft and improper preservation of a human body.

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Allegations against funeral home director Elliott Graham explored

According to First Coast News, the investigation into Elliott Graham’s funeral home was launched after multiple families filed complaints claiming Graham did not properly embalm their relatives.

During the investigation, the state agency that oversees funerals and cemeteries discovered Graham reportedly gave families "fake" cremated remains, stole money, and abandoned the funeral home.

The discovery was made after state officials discovered three bodies inside the abandoned funeral home while serving a search warrant on Graham. One of the bodies reportedly belonged to Ola Mae Brown Jackson, who passed away from cancer in September 2023.

Ola Mae Brown Jackson's family told First Coast News one of the family members went down to the funeral home to confront the suspect on January 14 2024, after they still had not received her remains.

At the time, Graham reportedly made the family member wait outside for 45 minutes before bringing out what he alleged were her remains. Shortly after, the family filed a complaint with the state.

Another body found inside the funeral home reportedly belonged to Pauline Durden, who had her ashes laid to rest by her family six months ago. Her granddaughters told News4JAX that at the time grandmother’s ashes looked more like “chalk or ground kitty litter.”

“It was heartbreaking. Just the journey of everything, it’s been tough trying to heal. And just when you think you get to a point where it’s like, he’s starting to feel a little bit better. It’s the wound that’s been reopened,” one of Pauline Durden’s granddaughters told the station.

Pauline Durden's granddaughter revealed investigators were having the ashes from the funeral home tested to determine what was in it. Another member of the family, Johnesha Kemp, said they have closure knowing the suspect responsible for the reprehensible treatment of their loved one is behind bars.

“It gave us a little bit of closure, knowing that we now have my grandma. The person who did this horrendous act is now behind bars, and the process is getting moved and we can finally let it go and let her rest in peace — the way that she needed to and move forward to get over everything.”

According to WJXT, Marion Graham Mortuaries Funeral has been operating in Jacksonville since 1984, and Elliott Graham took over the funeral home from his father, Marion Graham, following his death in 2018.