Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: August 23, 2025
Original Time of Writing: August 23, 2025
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.
Could Funeral Homes Dump Bodies to Cut Costs? A Carbon, Alberta Jane Doe Theory
In the unsettling case of the Carbon, Alberta Jane Doe, discovered roadside on April 20th or 21st, 1995, a peculiar detail stands out: the possibility that her remains were removed from a grave. When examining this case back in 2021, I raised the reasons why a dead person might be removed from a grave. They were:
(1) Exhumation for legal or scientific reasons;
(2) Necrophilia;
(3) Extreme mourning;
(4) Or to fake a death.
But while reading about some modern news in an unrelated case, I came across one where a woman who was dead and her remains were set to be cremated was instead found in a park. At the time of writing, the investigation in that particular case was still in progress.
The case raised a chilling question to me—could funeral homes or morticians dispose of bodies improperly to save money? While this idea may seem far-fetched, the financial pressures of the funeral industry and historical precedents suggest it’s worth exploring as a potential explanation for the Carbon Jane Doe.
Carbon Jane Doe: A Mysterious Case
The Carbon Jane Doe was found near the small village of Carbon, Alberta, about an hour northeast of Calgary. Estimated to have died between 1980 and 1985, she was a female, likely aged 20–40, standing 5’0” to 5’4”, with a possible Indigenous or mixed background. Intriguingly, a 1995 Calgary Herald article suggested her remains may have been removed from a grave. For more details on her case, see the RCMP profile (Service Canada Reference #2016069642) or my previous article from January 4th, 2021.
Funeral Industry Pressures and Cost-Cutting
Funeral homes operate in a competitive, high-cost industry. Embalming, caskets, cremation, and burial services require significant resources—chemicals, labor, and facility space/maintenance all add up. For smaller or unscrupulous operations, cutting corners can be tempting.
Disposing of a body without proper burial or cremation could, in theory, save thousands of dollars per case, especially for unclaimed remains or clients with limited funds. While rare, there have been documented cases of funeral homes mishandling bodies to reduce costs.
For example, in the United States, cases like the Tri-State Crematory scandal in 2002 revealed hundreds of bodies dumped or improperly stored instead of cremated, as families were told. The matter made the news and the following snippet is from the November 2nd, 2003 edition of The Tennessean. There was a broader story with more details but the reader can see how financial burdens might affect the proper running of a company who is charged with properly disposing of human remains.
Why Dump a Body? A Cost-Control Hypothesis
Imagine this scenario: a funeral home in western Canada in the early 1980s takes on a low-budget client or an unclaimed body. Instead of incurring the costs of a proper burial—land for a grave, a casket, or even cremation—they do some work on the body for the funeral then quietly dispose of it in a remote location. To the police, it looks like it was in a grave because of the evidence of the mortician's work. This could explain the Jane Doe’s roadside discovery and the suggestion of prior burial.
Challenges in Proving the Theory
Proving that a funeral home dumped the Carbon Jane Doe is no easy task. First, there’s little public evidence of Alberta funeral homes engaging in such practices during the 1980s. Second, if she was an unclaimed body—perhaps someone without family to notice her absence—there’d be no one to report a mishandled burial. Finally, there is the passage of time (over 40 years since her estimated death) and as time passes it also makes records more scarce and it increases apathy toward a case.
Could This Solve the Carbon Jane Doe Case?
The Carbon Jane Doe’s case remains unsolved, and while this hypothesis is speculative, it highlights a grim reality: the funeral industry isn’t immune to unethical practices. I think the darker side of this industry should be considered in relation to this strange Jane Doe case.
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