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Funeral home could be closed by state on Friday[/size]
Posted: 5:47 PM Apr 2, 2009
Reporter: Gene Petriello
ALLENDALE CTY, S.C. --- A source close to the investigation of a man's legs possibly being cut off before being buried, tells News 12 the state licensing department hopes to close Cave Funeral Services on Friday.
Investigators are looking into criminal charges, after digging up the body on Tuesday and finding "undesirable evidence."
News 12 is learning that late Thursday afternoon, investigators took their case to the Solicitor's Office for review. We're told right now they are not seeking a warrant because there isn't sufficient evidence. But, that could change in the near future.
James Hines died in 2004 he was about 6'7" tall. "He was amazing," says his wife Ruth Ann Hines.
It's not just losing her husband of 31 years that was painful for her. "It's like I'm grieving all over again," she says. That, after her husband's body was dug up by state investigators on Tuesday nearly 5 years after he died and she was starting to move on.
"Very stressful, very painful," says Ruth Ann. "There's a lot of hurt behind it."
Ruth Ann tells us James was an R&B star for nearly 30 years, had 5 children, 9 grandchildren and a wife that loved him very much. "He loved me," says Ruth Ann. "He treated me like a queen and I treated him like a king and that's the way a husband and a wife should be."
After battling skin cancer, James passed away in 2004 and that's when the rumors started. Those rumors that went through the town said his legs were cut off and his coffin was just too small. That happening just days before he was buried behind the church where he preached.
"I was in denial for a long time," says Ruth Ann.
On Thursday, she went with News 12 to visit her husband for the first time since his body was dug up. State investigators won't confirm they are coming to close the Funeral Home on Friday, nor will they say James' legs were cut off. All they will tell us is they found "undesirable evidence" when they dug up the body.
"We have always used Mr. Cave for our family service," says Ruth Ann. "They always treated us well."
But, this time may be different. We went to Caves and they told us to leave the property. They even called the police on us while we were there.
Ruth Ann on Thursday said goodbye to her husband and love again, as this investigation is only beginning. "There was nothing phony about him," she tells us. "He was just a good man."
This whole investigation started after a person who worked for Cave's called the South Carolina Licensing Board for Funeral Homes and told them the funeral home cut off the legs of Mr. Hines. That worker signed an affidavit saying what he told them was true. We did talk to him on the phone on Thursday, but he did not want to comment. Nor did he say whether he was currently employed by Cave's.
Ruth Ann did tell me her family noticed something had been wrong with the casket they ordered for James before he was buried. She says the daughter told Ruth Ann that her dad was bigger than the size of the casket. Ruth Ann adds, several other families members, friends and strangers came up to her in the past few years to tell them of what they heard. She says, she did not notice it when her husband was buried because she was grieving.
Ruth Ann says they picked out a casket for James with the funeral home that fit his taller body.
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