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Politics & Government

Bodies Decay When Coroner's Freezer Goes Out on Thanksgiving

A freezer bought at Jimmy John's goes kaput, and Kane County Coroner Robert Russell says it will cost $3,500 to repair.

Rick Nagel, Community Contributor

Posted Wed, Dec 4, 2013 at 2:33 pm CT|Updated Wed, Dec 4, 2013 at 2:39 pm CT

While residents of Kane County were struggling with cooking turkeys and entertaining house guests Thursday, Kane County Coroner's Office personnel were grappling with a bigger problem.

The morgue's freezer went kaput with two bodies inside that began to "liquefy," according to a Russell quote in the Kane County Chronicle. The smell was overpowering, but Coroner's Officer personnel came in, put on hazmat suits and moved the bodies to another freezer to slow decomposition.

The Chronicle story said the morgue's freezer is 20 years old and was purchased from Jimmy John's. Russell is seeking $3,500 to repair the freezer.

The Coroner's Office is located in Building E at the Kane County Government Center, 719 S. Batavia Ave. in Geneva.

Russell told various media outlets that his office had been underfunded for many years. He and County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen have sparred over requests for additional funding, but a compromise was brokered by Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham, according to the Daily Herald.