Police examine three bodies found in coffins at funeral business owners’ house after man, 52, was arrested for fraud
- Officers arrived at the house in Blackley, north Manchester, on Friday night
- They were seen removing coffins from the property during a ‘fraud inquiry’
- Post-mortems are to establish if any criminal offences have been committed
Police are carrying out post-mortem examinations on three bodies found in coffins inside a funeral parlour located in a semi-detached house on a residential street.
Officers arrived at the house in Blackley, north Manchester, on Friday night and were seen removing three coffins from the property after arresting a 52-year-old man on suspicion of fraud.
Police stayed at the property, which is the office of Pearson Funeral Services, all weekend and today confirmed their investigation remained a fraud inquiry related to ‘money being taken on false pretences’.
Officers arrived at the house in Blackley, north Manchester, on Friday and were seen removing three coffins from the property after arresting a 52-year-old man on suspicion of fraud
All three bodies found at the home have now been identified and their families made aware.
The post-mortems are intended to establish if any criminal offences have been committed, it is understood.
The suspect has been released on bail pending further investigation and police are appealing for former customers of the home who may have concerns to come forward.
One neighbour said he was woken up by police arriving in the early hours of Saturday.
‘We wondered what the commotion was,’ he said. ‘The police have been coming and going ever since and they’ve been sat outside all night.’
‘There were a couple of coffins taken out and they took him away on Saturday afternoon.’
Police stayed at the property, which is the office of Pearson Funeral Services, all weekend and today confirmed their investigation remained a fraud inquiry
Detective Inspector Claire Moss said: ‘It is important that while this investigation continues to take place that we avoid speculating over information that is not yet known.
‘What we can confirm is that we have arrested a man and released him on bail on suspicion of fraud after concerns that money was being taken under false pretences at a registered company.
‘We are committed to ensuring that the families of the three bodies that have been formally identified continue to be supported by specialist officers and are now able to go through the necessary next steps to allow their loved ones to rest in peace.
‘Our investigating officers are keen to hear from anyone else who may be concerned that they have used this company and we urge those with any concerns to contact police.’
All three bodies found at the home have now been identified and their families made aware. Pictured is a bag of evidence removed by an officer