Cannibalism & Disney+: Caitlin's Death News You Can Use [PATRON ONLY]

Welcome morbid petunias to another edition of Caitlin's Death News You Can Use, where the lovely Sarah Chavez and I hand-pick death stories we think you will find interesting, thrilling, frustrating, etc. We just want to make you FEEL SOMETHING, you know?

Up first, an update from the Ask a Mortician vault.

The Franklin Expedition’s First Known Victim of Cannibalism Identified

Human remains that were recovered from the British Royal Navy’s doomed Franklin expedition, which we covered in our Morbid Mystery series, have been identified, using DNA and genealogical evidence, as belonging to Captain James Fitzjames. The unfortunate officer has also been confirmed as the first known victim of cannibalism among the expedition members.

Inside New York’s Most Secretive Funeral Home

In my experience, most death positive people want to find a funeral home that prioritizes things like affordability, family involvement, and eco-friendly options; but for clients of this 100-year-old Manhattan funeral home, discretion, privacy, and a skill for misdirecting paparazzi are the draw.

Frank E. Campbell has been the mortuary of choice for countless power brokers and celebrities over the decades. The pallbearers, doormen, and embalmers who work at the funeral home all honor a strict code of silence when it comes to clients, which has made it challenging for journalists to write informed stories about the establishment. In a break with tradition, Frank E. Campbell allowed a reporter from The New York Times “to spend some time within its walls” resulting in a new article “Inside the Funeral Home for New York’s Luminaries.” The piece includes some interesting behind the scenes stories about funerals they’ve handled for celebrities and public figures.

A video we've never done (but thought about!) is the funeral of silent film star Rudolph Valentino, which turned into a riot as mourners fought over souvenirs like funeral flowers and strips of wallpaper from the Campbell funeral home.

Also of a note in the article: an embalmed canary.

Green Burial Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

Since 2022, Michigan couple Peter and Annica Quakenbush have been working with zoning officials, their local health department, and adhering to the Green Burial Council’s criteria to establish a green burial ground–the West Michigan Green Burial Forest–in Brooks Township. So, the couple was shocked when the Township passed an ordinance last year banning “any conventional cemetery, green cemetery, conservation cemetery, burial forest or forest cemetery.”

With the help of the Institute for Justice, the Quackenbush’s responded by suing the Township. “Put simply, the Quakenbushes own their own land and should be able to use it to operate a conservation burial ground that meets (and even exceeds) health and safety standards,” says Katrin Marquez; attorney for the couple . This past August a judge agreed, and ruled that the Township’s ban was unconstitutional.

What’s most concerning in this case is that the Township’s opposition to the burial ground was transparently based on fear of death, “It has largely been fear and misunderstanding that have informed opposition to our plan,” Annica told The Order of the Good Death. "There has been unfounded fear about water contamination, toxic human remains, murderers dumping bodies in the woods, animals digging up graves, cemetery neglect leading to bodies falling out of a mausoleum...we've heard it all."

The Mystery of the Embalmed Head

You can depend on 3 things in life—death, taxes, and the fact that if there’s a story about a mysterious embalmed head, we’re going to be talking about it.

 The latest season of Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries has an episode dedicated to a cold case about an unidentified embalmed head that was found in the woods of Eastern Pennsylvania in 2014. The head, which belonged to an unidentified woman in her 60s-80s, was discovered by a young boy—speaking of, young boys have an incredible track record of finding mysterious deathy things: a human skull in an elm tree, a strange cache of miniature coffins, and a teenage T-Rex, to name a few.

The police chief in charge of the case said, "Looking at her, it reminded you that she had been laid out, possibly for a funeral. And it appeared to us that the head had been professionally or at least removed by somebody with some sort of medical knowledge.” Questions about her identity and how her head ended up in the woods remain a mystery.

Funeral Malfeasance: International Edition

Sorry United States, I know you want the monopoly on stories of horrific funeral malfeasance, but let's let other countries have a try! (...sigh)

Earlier this year, police in Hull, England received reports expressing “concern for care of the deceased” at several locations of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors. Officers recovered 35 bodies and unidentified cremated remains after raiding one of the locations. “Shocked” and “understandably distraught” families were notified with many left wondering if they even have the ashes of their loved ones.

While two funeral home employees have been arrested, the incident has left both the public and the government considering implementing stronger regulations and licensing for those working in the funeral industry—as it stands death care professionals in the U.K. are able to practice without licensing requirements. (As I always say–and will repeat until the rapture takes me–the funeral industry needs regular governmental inspection of premises and policies, not more intense licensing requirements,)

Meanwhile, in Northern China dozens of suspects have been charged in a decade-long scheme in which corpses marked for cremation were instead sold to one of the country's largest biomaterial firms.

Death and Disney…Again

Disney just can’t help being linked to death– from its movies, to its amusement parks, to rumors of Walt Disney’s corpse being frozen, (which we debunked in our Death and Disney series once upon a time). This time around, Disney is in the news yet again for telling a husband he can’t sue over wife’s wrongful death – because he signed up for Disney+ trial. If you’re saying to yourself, "Caitlin, that’s absurd and ‘preposterous!," you’d be echoing exactly what the family’s lawyer is saying.

Jeffrey Piccolo’s wife suffered a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant (after first asking about allergy accommodations) and being assured multiple times that the food she was served was completely safe for her to consume. 45 minutes later she died “as a result of anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system,” confirmed a medical examiner.

This sounds like a lawsuit, right? Well, Disney claims that the family waived their right to sue the company when activating a one-month free trial of Disney+ on the Walt Disney World app five years ago. Disney also says Mr. Piccolo agreed to a similar language when purchasing park tickets online in September 2023. I guess he missed the fine print that said, "no suin' us no matter what-skis."

(Thanks to Jack for pointing out that after much backlash, Disney backed off their quest to have the lawsuit dropped on these grounds.)

That's it for this month. The Devil works hard, but stories about death work harder. I'd stay around to talk more but I have a Halloween party to go to. Yes, it's October 19th. Yes I guess the fun starts early round these parts.

As always, drop your death news stories in the comments and maybe they'll make the next roundup.

xx

Fate-Grim Doughty

ps- quiet little voice.... new main channel video this week