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KTRK-TV HOUSTON PHOTO: scumbag Patton WATCHVIDEO A former funeral director is accused of a deeply disturbing crime. The district attorney says authorities uncovered shocking photos of him and a dead body. While the pictures were allegedly taken several years before James Patton started working at Earthman Funeral Home, this latest incident of alleged corpse abuse may have happened as recently as September 2008. Today a spokesperson with Houston-based SCI, the company that owns Earthman, says when authorities first alerted them of the disturbing allegations, Patton was immediately removed from his position and the company. Patton, 38, is charged with abuse of a corpse. The former funeral director at Earthman's Hunter Creek chapel is accused of treating a human corpse in an offensive manner. No one answered at Patton's Montrose area apartment Monday afternoon. An unidentified woman who arrived while Eyewitness News was there had no comment. Back in April, police seized Patton's computer from his apartment during an unrelated investigation, when they discovered a series of disturbing pictures, 27 in all. "HPD sent the images to the FBI forensics laboratory for examination," explained Donna Hawkins with the Harris County District Attorney's office. According to court documents, it was determined that the images were taken in November 2004, before Patton worked for Earthman. However, last month when police showed Patton the offensive pictures recovered from his computer, the investigator asked, 'When was the last time you did this?' Patton responded, 'A year ago,' which would have been on or about September 2008, while Patton was employed as the funeral director at Earthman. A spokesperson for SCI says she is not aware of any other incidents, and released the following statement: "These allegations are deeply disturbing. They are contrary to everything the entire funeral profession stands for. The vast majority of people in the funeral industry are people with the utmost integrity. They are caring, compassionate professionals who daily help families through extremely difficult times." SCI says it will continue to cooperate with authorities. Abuse of a corpse is a class A misdemeanor. If Patton is convicted, he could spend up to a year in jail and could face up to a $4,000 fine.
KHOU-TV A former employee of Earthman Funeral Home in Houston was arrested over the weekend and charged with abuse of a corpse. Police were initially investigating James Howard Patton, 39, for allegedly harassing his ex-girlfriend over the Internet. They obtained a search warrant to seize his computers. Investigators say they found photos of a man's genitalia touching the foot of a nude female corpse on Patton's computer. They also found an image of a female corpse with the legs spread open. An expert determined those photos were taken in 2004. The ex-girlfriend later identified the man in the photo as Patton. Investigators say they also found other photos of Patton wearing a suit similar to the one seen in the photo. “I can tell you that the defendant’s male sexual organ was seen in various poses with those of dead bodies,” said Donna Hawkins with the Harris County DA’s Office. When questioned, Patton admitted that he last abused a corpse "a year ago," according to the probable cause warrant. That would have been around the time he worked as a funeral director at the Earthman Funeral Home in the 8300 block of Katy Freeway. Records show he was there from June 2008 to October 2008. Someone with Earthman said that the pictures were not taken there. The individual also said that there’s no evidence that Patton committed the crime while he worked for Earthman. However, the company did fire Patton as soon as they found out about the allegations. At this time, Patton has only been charged in connection with the 2004 photos, but the investigation is continuing. Patton was released from jail after posting a $1,500 bond on the misdemeanor charge.
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