NH Crematory Owner Sentenced
BRENTWOOD, N.H. (WBZ) ― The man who prosecutors accused of running the Seabrook crematorium, where investigators found unlabeled ashes and an improperly stored body, will spend the next year-and-a-half to three years in state prison. Derek Wallace of Salisbury, Massachusetts was sentenced Thursday, months after pleading guilty to four felony tax fraud charges. Wallace must also make restitution to the New Hampshire Department of Revenue to the tune of $240,000.
Wallace’s criminal record will show he’s a tax cheat. But three people who gave victim impact statements say he cheated them of something else.
“Peace of mind,” said Diana Smith. “There will be a part of me and probably a part of every family involved that they’re gonna think this is the biggest mistake they’ve ever made in their life. They entrusted their loved one to someone they trusted and it was all wrong.”
Smith is one of many whose loved ones were cremated at the now closed Bayview Crematory. A February 2005 raid there, according to prosecutors, uncovered shoddy paperwork and unidentified ashes, leading families to wonder if the urn they were given in fact contains their loved ones’ remains.
Given the opportunity to speak in court, Wallace made an impassioned plea to families in the courtroom.
“Do you have your families cremains? And I wish every family was here and I wish you’d take my picture and quote my words, and the answer is, yes,” said Wallace. “I can’t imagine that wondering if those cremains are that of your family. Yes. Yes they are. And there is no evidence, there is no speculation as to whether or not they are.”
Families have filed a class action lawsuit in civil court.
Wallace’s defense attorney argued no evidence of improprieties at the crematorium should be considered during sentencing, saying Wallace pled guilty to the only charges on the table.
The sentencing, prosecutors say, wrapped up a lengthy pursuit in the criminal courts, in an effort to provide closure to families.
Wallace is the fifth and final person to be brought to justice in the case. Wallace’s mother and stepfather, Linda and Lawrence Stokes, who owned the crematorium, received suspended prison sentences and agreed to pay almost a quarter of a million dollars in back taxes. Former Massachusetts medical examiner Putnam Breed received a jail time for fraud and theft charges. Employee James Fuller pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges but died before sentencing.
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