RICHMOND, IN — A Randolph County funeral home director recently indicted on 64 counts of theft had earlier drawn a warning from the Indiana attorney general’s office.
Dillon Pitcher, Wayne County’s chief deputy coroner, said on Tuesday, March 3, that his office in December 2024 filed a complaint against Zalo J. Wilson Jr., with the attorney general’s office “concerning conduct we believed to inappropriate and harmful to a family we were serving.”
According to Pitcher, after a “coordinated medicolegal investigation” that involved law enforcement, crime scene investigators and a forensic pathologist, it was determined a local death had been the result of “a suicide by gunfire.”
However, Wilson — “who is not a forensic pathologist” and does not possess the medical training or authority to determine a cause of death, the chief deputy coroner said — told the deceased person’s family the death was the result of a homicide.
In an email, Pitcher said Wilson’s claim “directly contradicted the findings of trained medical and investigative professionals.”
“It was unsubstantiated and created unnecessary confusion and emotional distress for the family during an already difficult time,” he said.
In the release, Pitcher suggested Wilson might have received a harsher sanction in that case “if these other despicable allegations had not come to light.”
A Randolph County grand jury on Feb. 11 returned the indictments charging Wilson with 64 counts of theft, Level 6 felonies carrying up to 30 months in prison.
The 61-year-old Lynn man is accused of stealing more than $500,000 that had been set aside for prepaid funeral plans held by 64 victims.
The indictments remained sealed until Monday. Wilson was arrested on Friday, Feb. 27, by authorities in Maine.
The Randolph County resident was associated with Wilson-Shook Funeral Homes in Parker City and other local communities.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Funeral home director was warned over handling of Wayne County case
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
