Funeral director accused of taking selfies with hearses and caskets
HOUSTON -- Saturday was a difficult day for Rose Molina and her family.
They buried her 32-year-old cousin.
"That day was especially hard for us because Saturday was the one-year anniversary of the loss of my grandmother, and they were buried next to each other," said Molina.
Molina says after her cousin's body was placed in the hearse, she says she couldn't believe what she saw. She said she saw the funeral director, David L. Jones, take what appeared to be selfie with her cousin's casket loaded in the hearse behind him.
She said it was apparent by Jones' stance.
"You could see that he had it kind of angled, you know, you have it positioned in a certain way to catch the background," said Molina.
Molina says afterwards she approached Jones and asked if he took a selfie. He told her he was just fixing his tie.
Appalled, Molina went to Jones' Facebook page and found numerous images of what she believes to be Jones taking selfies with hearses and caskets behind him.
Leal Funeral Home's owner, Joaquin Leal, says Jones is an independent contractor and was working at Leal's Funeral Home in Jacinto City when the incident allegedly happened. Leal declined an on-camera interview with us, but the owner did tell us by phone Jones' behavior is unacceptable. Leal also said he called the family to apologize.
"We were mourning the loss of my cousin, to be a very family event, private event, it's tainted. He disrespected this day in my family's life," said Molina.
According to Leal, Jones declined our request for an interview. We also tried to reach out to him by phone but he didn't answer.
We checked with the state of Texas. Jones is a licensed funeral director. He's had no complaints so far.
However, Molina plans to file an official complaint.
The Texas Funeral Services Commission, which oversees funeral directors, says it could be a violation of conduct. If it's found to be a violation, then Jones could receive a warning or a fine of up to $5,000.
