Days after Gov. Wes Moore ordered an independent review of the state board that oversees the funeral industry, three members of the board resigned, according to a state official.

The review of the Maryland State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors comes after inspectors discovered — on multiple occasions — decomposing bodies waiting for cremation, often in cardboard boxes at Heaven Bound Cremation Services in Charles County.

After the discovery in late January, the board ordered the crematory to stop operations.

The governor’s office asked for the three members, Michele Kutta, Brandon Wylie and Patrick Thompson, to resign, a source familiar with the situation said.

The three members were listed in archived versions of the Maryland Department of Health Board of Morticians & Funeral Directors website, but their names have been removed as of Monday. The board is an independent industry oversight panel under the Maryland Department of Health.

Kutta was listed as the president of the board, Wylie was the first vice president and Thompson was the second vice president. Their names and titles still appear in minutes from an open session in December.

To lead the review of the board, Moore enlisted attorney Charles P. Scheeler, who will present recommendations to the governor and the Maryland General Assembly on improving the morticians board’s “oversight and efficiency.”

The Charles County crematory has been on the radar of the morticians board since a complaint led to the opening of an investigation in 2017. Despite escalating actions from the morticians board, the problem of bodies awaiting cremation being improperly stored continued.

In March 2024, an inspector discovered “human bodies in cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other with no support between the boxes; human bodies in ripped body bags with arms and legs hanging out of the body bags; human remains that were not being stored in temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit; and blood on the refrigeration unit and bodily fluids on the floor,” according to state documents.

A month later, investigators found similar problems, which led to a 10-day suspension and $2,000 fines for each of the owners, Rosa Williams and Brandon Williams.

The problems were found again in January.

Baltimore Banner reporters Pamela Wood and Meredith Cohn contributed to this report.