Jan. 26--Illinois State Police are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the last of four bodies recovered in September from the property of a Riverdale mortician who had been the subject of multiple court orders to cease and desist his in-home mortuary practices.
State police said the decomposed body, recovered Sept. 9 from Anton Godfrey's garage in the 13900 block of Dearborn Street, is that of a man.
Godfrey's family members discovered the human remains of the bodies after Godfrey's death Aug. 29.
Master Sgt. Jason Bradley said the person who remains unidentified "was wearing a 5XL suit coat, so we speculate he was a large individual." Bones sent to a special laboratory to determine the man's height aren't expected back for months, he said.
Bradley said a lottery ticket in the coat, dated Oct. 20, 2014, might be a clue to the general time of the individual's death.
Bradley said anyone who hired Godfrey for burial or cremation preparation services about that time should consider coming forward to help match -- or rule out -- the man's identity, using dental records or DNA.
Authorities said Godfrey had prepared the four bodies for burial but improperly stored them in his garage, along with a box containing cremains. Authorities were able to notify relatives of three of the people whose bodies were found. Relatives of another person whose cremains were found and marked with an identification tag also were notified.
Anyone with information about the fourth body is asked to call Illinois State Police Zone 1 Investigations at 847-294-4600.
Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter.
