Body of infant found in Shreveport linked to funeral home in Dallas
By Madison Edwards
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SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — Shreveport police say the body of a stillborn infant was found mixed in with laundry at a local uniform cleaning facility on Wednesday.
“We are very well accustomed to working homicides in Shreveport, but this is a different set of circumstances, one that I can’t say we’ve ever seen before,” said Cpl. Chris Bordelon.
Police say employees at ALSCO Uniforms in Shreveport discovered the body of a stillborn infant early Wednesday morning among linens shipped from a Dallas funeral home.
“It was apparent the child had possibly been from a funeral home,” said Bordelon.
Police discovered the linens came from the Golden Gate Funeral Home and Crematorium in Dallas.
According to police, Kendell Dwayne Xavier Malone died May 3 and was scheduled for cremation.
“Officers found that the child did appear to have been embalmed. There was some significant discoloration to the child. It was a very strange scene, something that we don’t come across very often,” said Bordelon.
Instead of being cremated, Malone’s body was found in the commercial laundry shipment more than 180 miles away in Shreveport.
“They were able to determine that the load had come in from a funeral home in the Dallas area. The child was said to have been cremated. A one day old child that had passed away and that child somehow wound up in the linens and was found here in Shreveport,” said Bordelon.
The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Officer has taken custody of the remains and the Texas Funeral Service Commission has been notified. The business has one prior disciplinary strike with the commission.
In 2012, Golden Gate Funeral Home was featured on the TLC reality show “Best Funeral Ever.”
KTBS reached out to owner Jon Beckwith for comment and he declined to speak on the phone.
ALSCO released this statement:
A deceased infant was tragically discovered by one of our employees in a linen hamper received from a customer. Out of respect for the ongoing investigation, we are not disclosing further details at this time. We are fully cooperating with local authorities and remain committed to the safety of our team, the integrity of our uniform and linen services, and full transparency as required throughout this process.”
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