Chris Parham and Laquanda Brown are suing Heaven Bound Crematorium in Maryland after it failed to cremate their infant son. 

Two Washington, D.C. parents are suing a crematorium for $20 million after their infant son’s body was found decomposing despite them being told he was cremated and allegedly being given his remains. 

On February 27, months after receiving what they believed were their son’s ashes, Chris Parham and Laquanda Brown received a call from Maryland State Police informing them that their son’s remains had been found, NBC 4 Washington reported.

Instead of being cremated, their son’s body was found by police at Heaven Bound Crematorium in Charles County, Maryland, still in the clothes he was wearing during his funeral. Brown and Parham were given someone else’s ashes after their son’s funeral in October. Despite the discovery in February, the parents still do not have their son’s remains. 

While speaking to NBC 4 Washington, Parham admitted he had his “doubts” about the business after first visiting. 

“He kept telling me, from the moment we walked into the funeral home, ‘something ain’t right’” Brown said. 

Parham and Brown represent one instance of what is now known to include several victims of the now-closed crematorium. According to Fox 5, ​​Heaven Bound Crematorium had been facing allegations of misconduct dating back to 2017. The Maryland Death Services Oversight Board discovered proof that it was improperly storing human remains then, and the operators continued to receive repeated sanctions. The business was formally shut down in January 2025 after state investigators found human bodies in cardboard boxes stacked on top of one another, with arms and legs hanging out of body bags, circled by flies. They also discovered bodily fluids, including blood, on the floor. 

The outlets reported that Maryland Governor Wes Moore opened an investigation into the state’s oversight board after Heaven Bound was allowed to continue operating despite the repeated alarming claims. 

Parham and Brown’s son died in August at just two months old, and the parents told both NBC 4 and Fox 5 how this discovery disrupted what little healing they had begun to do. 

Brown noted how hard it’s been, especially after carrying the baby for nine months; he was her only son.

“I’m not even gonna be able to experience like his first date, know what his favorite color was,” she said. “I would never get to know what kind of person he would be.”

Parham and Brown are suing for $20 million in damages to ensure Heaven Bound crematorium stays closed.