J.B. Ratterman & Sons Funerals & Family Cremation Care in Louisville, Ky. (Google Maps).
Two Kentucky families are suing local funeral home owners for allegedly mixing up and possibly losing the cremated remains of their loved ones.
Following the passing of his mother Charlotte Hinkel in December 2023, Bobby Hinkel and his family found themselves in a distressing situation after receiving her cremains from J.B. Ratterman & Sons Funerals & Family Cremation Care in Louisville, Kentucky. They were skeptical about the box they had been given, prompting them to reach out to the Louisville NBC affiliate WAVE for assistance in investigating the matter.
According to a report by WAVE, the chain of custody records maintained by J.B. Ratterman revealed that Charlotte Hinkel’s body had been transported to the Ratterman funeral home before undergoing cremation at a different facility, Cloverport Funeral Home. This second funeral home was later found to be unlicensed for cremations by an inquiry conducted by the Kentucky Attorney General’s office, resulting in a substantial fine of $580,000.
The AG’s investigation found that a total of 290 illegal cremations, including Charlotte Hinkel, took place at Cloverport Funeral Home.
Currently, Bobby Hinkel harbors serious reservations about the authenticity of the cremains he received, questioning whether they truly belong to his late mother. In an interview with WAVE, Bobby expressed his uncertainties, stating, “I don’t know if that’s my mom, I don’t know if it’s somebody else’s. And we’ll probably never know.”
More from Law&Crime: ‘I’m supposed to be at a viewing’: Funeral home cremates mom before loved ones could say goodbye, then waits a week to tell them, family says
Rebecca Moore was another customer who used J.B. Ratterman’s funeral and cremation services after the death of her uncle Ira Ison. After his body made its way to J.B. Ratterman’s, the owner — Tony Ratterman — reported his cremains missing. Ison’s family did receive what they were told were his cremains. A chemical test reportedly proved that what they really received was soil.
A representative of J.B. Ratterman reportedly said in an affidavit that while their business offered cremation services, they did not have the facilities on-site to perform cremations. They entered into a partnership with Anthony Oxendine, the owner of Cloverport Funeral Home, to do the cremations.
Oxendine, however, has a checkered past of his own, according to WAVE. A failed mayoral candidate in Louisville, Oxendine’s career as a funeral professional began in Indiana. He was reportedly denied a funeral director license back in 2016 as well as a funeral director courtesy card in 2017. He eventually owned and managed Spring Valley Funeral Home in Indiana and later transferred his ownership to an unidentified person, WAVE reported. An investigation into that business reportedly revealed unsanitary conditions and dozens of unclaimed cremains. Spring Valley Funeral Home is now permanently closed.
According to WAVE, while Ratterman attended the Kentucky Board of Funeral Home Directors and Embalmers in January 2024, he reportedly brought up issues he was having with Oxendine about funerals that he conducted during December 2023 — the same time frame as the funerals for Charlotte Hinkel and Ira Ison.
WAVE reported that while Oxendine is also being sued alongside Tony Ratterman, owner of J.B. Ratterman & Sons, he had not yet been served with the lawsuit. Ratterman responded to the lawsuit by issuing a denial of all the accusations.
Tony Ratterman reportedly told WAVE that he still wanted to tell his side of the story but would not comment on the lawsuit.
