Funeral director accused of taking selfies with hearses, caskets

HOUSTON -- Saturday was a difficult day for Rose Molina and her family. They buried her 32-year-old cousin.

"That day was especially hard for us because Saturday was the one-year anniversary of the loss of my grandmother, and they were buried next to each other," said Molina.

Molina said after her cousin's body was placed in the hearse, she said she couldn't believe what she saw. She said she saw the funeral director, David L. Jones, take what appeared to be a selfie with her cousin's casket loaded in the hearse behind him.

Funeral director selfies called insensitive.

She said it was apparent by Jones' stance.

"You could see that he had it kind of angled, you know, you have it positioned in a certain way to catch the background," said Molina.

Molina said afterwards, she approached Jones and asked if he took a selfie. He told her he was just fixing his tie.

Appalled, Molina went to Jones' Facebook page and found numerous images of what she believed to be Jones taking selfies with hearses and caskets behind him.

Leal Funeral Home's owner, Joaquin Leal, said Jones is an independent contractor and was working at Leal's Funeral Home in Jacinto City when the incident allegedly happened. Leal declined an on-camera interview with us, but the owner did say by phone Jones' behavior was unacceptable.

Leal also said he called the family to apologize.

"We were mourning the loss of my cousin. To be a very family event, private event, it's tainted. He disrespected this day in my family's life," said Molina.

According to Leal, Jones declined ABC7 sister station KTRK-TV's request for an interview. They also tried to reach out to him by phone but he didn't answer.

KTRK-TV checked with the state of Texas. Jones is a licensed funeral director, but he's had no complaints so far.

Molina, however, planned to file an official complaint.

The Texas Funeral Services Commission, which oversees funeral directors, said it could be a violation of conduct. If it's found to be a violation, then Jones could receive a warning or a fine of up to $5,000.