Son Blamed in Funeral Home Scandal : Trial: Attorney tells jurors that violations did take place at family’s Pasadena business. But he says former operators had no knowledge.

The former operators of a respected Pasadena funeral home, who are on trial in a bizarre scandal that rocked their industry five years ago, are trying to shift the blame to their son.

Attorney Edward A. Rucker, representing Laurieanne Sconce, has told jurors that mass cremations, commingling of ashes and dental gold extractions did take place at the family’s businesses. But, he said, “these acts were done by their son, David. It was done without their permission or knowledge. It’s resulted in a great tragedy for them, for a third-generation business and for the families of the deceased.”

Laurieanne Lamb Sconce, 55, and her husband, Jerry, 58, former operators of the Lamb Funeral Home, are standing trial on nine criminal charges alleging that they conducted mass cremations, mixed ashes and unlawfully removed gold teeth and other body parts.

The accusations, which surfaced in 1987, led to a new state law that allows crematory inspections on demand. It triggered a class-action lawsuit involving the families of 5,000 deceased people, which was settled this year.

The scandal also ensnared the couple’s son, David, 36. He served about half of a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to 21 counts involving funeral home and crematory operations. Another allegation, that he murdered a rival mortician with poison, has been dropped.

The criminal trial of his parents, long delayed by complex legal disputes, began last week in Pasadena Superior Court. It is expected to continue for another month. The testimony is focusing attention again on the practices at the Lamb Funeral Home, founded by Laurieanne Sconce’s grandfather, and its affiliated cremation and tissue procurement businesses.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Elliott Alhadeff said he will show that David Sconce did not engage in the illegal activities alone. “He operated with the assistance of his parents,” Alhadeff said.

On Tuesday, he questioned a New Jersey woman, Rosemary Schmitz, who said she went to the Lamb Funeral Home on Sept. 18, 1986. Schmitz said she met with Laurieanne Sconce to make arrangements for her sister, Helen Turner of Pasadena, who had died the day before.

Asked if she had granted permission for removal of her sister’s organs, Schmitz replied: “Absolutely not.”

Later, Alhadeff read a transcript of 1987 testimony by Clarence Turner, the dead woman’s husband. Turner, now deceased, said he had never met with Laurieanne Sconce, had made no arrangements at the funeral home and had not granted permission for removal of his wife’s organs.