Lenin's Mausoleum, Titan's Moment of Doom, and other DEATH NEWS You Can Use [Patron-exclusive]

Hello NecroNews Consumers,

Well, what do we have here? Why, it's another edition of Caitlin's Death News You Can Use! A roundup of death stories gathered just for you by Sarah Chavez and yours truly. From the ocean floor, to the heights of a landfill, to a Russian mausoleum, this month's stories have a little something to tickle everyone's inner fears.

Ugh, fine, ok, we'll start with Titan.

The Big Bang

This may surprise some of you, given my fear of the deep ocean, but I would love to dive in a submersible. It would be terrifying, sure, but most rated-submersibles are extremely strong, well engineered, and safe. Except for the one that wasn't. The one everyone knew wasn't safe.

For those of you looking to enhance the details of your intrusive thoughts on OceanGate's Titan submersible imploding, may I suggest Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster, a newly released BBC documentary that reveals previously unseen footage from the Titan's OceanGate support ship. The footage captures the moment the submersible imploded during its June 2023 descent to the Titanic wreck, killing all five aboard.

At one point in the documentary Wendy Rush, wife of OceanGate CEO and Titan pilot Stockton Rush, is monitoring the Titan's dive at the computer aboard the support ship and reacts to a sound and asks, "What was that bang?" The bang in question was later revealed to the Titan imploding.

[Note: I watched both the Netflix and BBC docs on Titan as reaserch for #thebook and thought the Netflix documentary did a better job explaining the hull's design and OBVIOUS, INEVITABLE failure, but I have to admit that this moment in the BBC documentary was deeply uncomfortable and intense.]

The documentary also discloses that the sub's carbon fiber hull had begun deteriorating a year prior and that Titan lacked independent safety certification, despite warnings from experts who deemed the design dangerously flawed. Said deep sea explorer Victor Vescovo to the BBC, "I specifically told them that it was simply a matter of time before it failed catastrophically. I told Stockton Rush himself that I believed that."

Pittsburgh Funeral Home Tossed Pets’ Remains

“Our mission is to assist families in creating personalized funeral experiences that honor the life of their loved ones..." –> the start of every funeral malfeasance story ever.

Over 6,500 pet owners in the Pittsburgh area were distraught to learn that the funeral home they had entrusted their pets to for cremation, Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial, had been disposing of them in landfills. Instead of getting the ashes of Rufus or Mr. Whiskers back, they were getting back ashes of "unknown animals" prosecutors told The New York Times.

I can't help but ask: Wouldn't it have just been easier to give them their pet's ashes instead of having to SOURCE additional ashes? Like, what corners are you cutting? This sound like it might be adding more corners.

A former employee of 70-year-old funeral home owner Patrick Vereb tipped off the Attorney General’s office, prompting an investigation. It turns out, Vereb had collected more than $650,000 in fees through this fraudulent scheme. 

Heartbroken victims came together for a memorial to support each other and share stories of their beloved pets. Said one mourner, "...oh my God, he took my baby, and threw him away."

Bringing Home the Dead of the USS Arizona

A civilian-led initiative, Operation 85, is closer to its goal of identifying the 85 unknown sailors and Marines from the USS Arizona, who perished during the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack and are interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu AKA the Punchbowl.

Started in 2023 by Kevin Kline, not this Kevin Kline –

– but rather, grandnephew of USS Arizona Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Kline, you know, THAT Kevin Kline – Operation 85 has faced resistance from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) over costs and logistical challenges. In order for the Department of Defense to carry out disinterment and identification of the commingled "unknown" remains of the Arizona dead in Punchbowl, 60% of familial DNA must be represented.

While it was estimated that this would take a decade at a cost of millions, Kline believes he will meet the DOD's requirement this summer at a cost of about $70,000. As of the date of this post (numbers are reported daily), Operation 85 has 1,253 family members participating and 612 DNA samples completed/in process. They are only 5% short of what the DOD requires to exhume and identify the remains in Punchbowl.

We did a video a while ago about the dead of Pearl Harbor. It's a good video I think, and one I'm sorry we didn't make longer and do more on-site filming for.

Ohio Man is Nice About His Home Cemetery

Aaron Soboleski wants everyone to know his home is a cemetery. You hear that? HOME = CEMETERY.

Last month Soboleski petitioned his local township to allow him to establish a family cemetery IN HIS HOUSE. No, Aaron isn't burying bodies under the floorboards or in the basement, he simply wants to be able to keep his family members' cremated remains in his house. Which... is already totally legal. As you might expect, the township’s board members were a little confused by Soboleski’s request, reminding him “You can have as many urns or boxes or whatever on your mantle” as you’d like. 

"Or whatever." Translation: "Can we please move onto the potholes on Main Street?"

Soboleski responded, “I can establish this cemetery and designate it as a cemetery without your permission or approval. I’m just being nice about it.” 

Soboleski says that his family will maintain the home cemetery via a trust for generations to come. Cue one of his kids raising their hand, "Um...I'm doing what now?"

This is a confusing story. Soboleski claims he doesn't want to have graves outside in the yard or establish his home a mausoleum – in which case the township would have to take over if the family can't or won't. Cremated remains in his home are a non issue. Well, you do you, Aaron Soboleski. You do you.

Funeral Industry Changes – Oh REALLY? Tell me more

So, families want more from their funerals than just a $10,000 price tag and a Very Respectful Casket? They actually want to be INVOLVED? They want a service that celebrates the uniqueness of their loved one?

I'm dead. As the kids say.

There’s a new article on the funeral industry and how funeral homes are needing to adapt to the rise in cremation, and consumers who want greener options and more family involvement. “ I don’t want to say that we’re going to become party planners,” says Lanae Strovers, who is a spokeswoman and trainer for the National Funeral Directors Association. “But I think that those two lines are crossing over and we just need to open up our thought process…” 

Generational funeral director and NFDA spokesman, Walker Posey said, “We’re no longer just a funeral company who does events. We’re an event company who does funerals.” Posey goes on to say that weddings and funerals aren't that different, why not lean into it?

You always dreamed that your grandma would be at your wedding, don't let her funeral stop you. A party is a party, am I right?

Putin Trembles Before a Corpse!

Something is moldy in Moscow.

It's Lenin.

Well, Lenin's house.

His mausoleum.

Where his meticulously preserved corpse lives.

Er, Resides.

And that molding mausoleum has got Putin sweating rubles.

Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine and associated economic strains, the Kremlin is investing $250,000 in the mausoleum that houses Lenin's corpse, a corpse that has been on public display for over a century, (learn more about this iconic corpse’s spa retreats and extreme preservation in one of our videos). The mausoleum is reportedly suffering from structural issues, including mold and ventilation problems, prompting the need for repairs by 2027. I was there in 2019 and it looked great to me! Lenin also looked great, although he's mostly wax and wires at this point.

Lenin's preserved corpse is a divisive figure in Russia, with some 30% of the population thinking that he should be buried. Others still hold onto what his remains symbolize: "The revolution never dies." To keep spending money or not spending money on Lenin's corpse? Putin is in a pickle.

Thanks for being here deathlings! (Did you hear that they killed Marge – of the future – on The Simpsons? And she marries Ringo Starr in the afterlife?)

Caitlin xo