Investigators find two bodies in vacant Driving Park storefront

The discovery of two bodies in a vacant storefront in the Driving Park neighborhood this week is linked to an ongoing investigation of an individual alleged to be offering funeral services without a license, according to the head of the Ohio funeral regulatory board.

State investigators discovered the bodies at a storefront in the 1600 block of East Livingston Avenue while serving a search warrant Wednesday at the property.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Dave Yost’s office confirmed that agents with the office’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating the discovery of the bodies but declined Thursday to release any other details.

“It is an ongoing investigation and we don’t have anything else to share,” spokesperson Bethany Mccorkle said.

Cheryl Grossman, executive director of the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors said Thursday that the person targeted by investigators has never been licensed by the state board to offer funeral services.

“In the state of Ohio, we are known as having some of the best rules and laws dealing with this entire profession,” she said. “To know that someone may have been pretending to be licensed is just so unfortunate for the families who have been affected.”

The storefront where the discovery was made is two doors west of Livingston Market and has vertical bars over the windows and door, with black tarps behind them, preventing people from seeing inside.

The property owner of the block that contains the storefront, 1611-1637 E. Livingston Ave., is Hm-saleh LP, according to Franklin County auditor’s office records.

Sanjay Bhatt, the lawyer for the property owner, said his client did not know what was going on in the space he was leasing.

“He is surprised by this as well. He is cooperating with all the authorities,” Bhatt said.

Dave Johnson, 24, who lives in a house across the street, said he didn’t hear or see anything until he came out of his house and saw the area blocked off by police tape.

“Honestly, it was shocking,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know what the hell was going on.” jfutty@dispatch.com @johnfutty mferench@dispatch.com @Markferenchik

MARK FERENCHIK/ COLUMBUS DISPATCH Two bodies were removed from a storefront on East Livingston Avenue, in connection with a state investigation into an illegal funeral home operation.