Mortician revisits infamous Lamb Funeral Home in Pasadena, recounting macabre criminal activities of a local family
Getting a Sneak Peek at the Dark Side of the Pasadena Crematorium
Step back to the 80s when the seemingly quaint neighborhood of Pasadena was shrouded in mystery. The nearby crematorium, Lamb Funeral Home, began operating around the clock, billowing smoke from its chimney late into the night. Precisely how disturbing the situation would become over the following years would take some time to come to light.
A once-respected institution, the family-run Lamb Funeral Home had been a cornerstone of Southern California's mortuary business for generations. But that reputation took a drastic turn following a series of gruesome offenses, broadcasting the darkface of a new L.A. criminal saga.
This chilling tale unfolds in the three-part HBO docuseries, "The Mortician," debuting on Sundays with weekly airings. The series exposes the unfathomable transgressions of David Sconce, a man who seemed to be living the epitome of Southern California's affluent and privileged lifestyle: a golden-haired, blue-eyed high school quarterback with dreams of professional football stardom, thwarted by a torn ligament.
Sconce found a more macabre career path, steering the family-owned crematorium, where he increased profits with disconcerting tactics. By incinerating multiple corpses in a single chamber, he could maximize the number of cremations without deceiving the unsuspecting survivors who believed they were scattering the ashes of a single loved one into the sea. Little did they know, those cremains belonged to several different people.
Journalist Josh Rofé, director and producer of "The Mortician," is no stranger to eerie documentaries, following the award-winning "Lorena."
The crimes committed by Sconce went far beyond questionable business practices. He harvested organs and body parts for profit, extracted the gold from dental fillings, and was even suspected of contracting a hit on a rival and poisoning another who sought to expose his misdeeds.
In 1989, Sconce pleaded guilty to 21 criminal charges, including the mutilation of corpses, conducting mass cremations, and hiring hitmen. He was sentenced to five years in prison but was freed after two and a half years. He was subsequently sentenced to 25 years to life upon reoffending and eventually paroled in 2023.
"The Mortician" presents a wealth of untold stories through interviews with Sconce himself, former employees of the funeral home, journalists, and those affected by Sconce's deceit. The documentary gives Sconce himself the opportunity to offer his own insight into his crimes, at once denying and boasting about his transgressions. Appearing more resentful than remorseful, he justifies his actions by viewing them as practical business decisions.
Sconce admits, "I don't value anyone once they're gone and dead. They shouldn't when I'm gone and dead. Love 'em while they're here." With a callous disregard for the loved ones of the deceased, he coldly rationalizes, "I could cremate one guy in two hours or put ten of them in there and take two and a half hours. So what's the difference? There is none."
Gruesome tales from the former employees, who witnessed Sconce's crimes firsthand, further paint a harrowing picture. They share stories of repurposed kilns, used for cremations in a ceramics factory, complete with canals installed below the kiln doors to catch the human fat drippings from the overloaded chambers.
For those eager for more stories of the dark world of mortuary charges, "The Mortician" is not HBO's first symphony of ghostly mysteries revolving around a Pasadena funeral home. The black comedy "Six Feet Under" also centered around a dysfunctional family who ran an embalming business, albeit with a markedly different tone. Nonetheless, the sinister essence of the Lamb family transcends the comical approach, with a twist as dark and chilling as the "Jinx" series.
- The chilling documentary, "The Mortician," airing weekly on HBO, delves into the dark underbelly of Southern California's entertainment-centric culture, unraveling the crime-and-justice tale of David Sconce and the Pasadena's Lamb Funeral Home.
- David Sconce, once a golden-haired, blue-eyed high school quarterback, traded his dreams of football stardom for a macabre career, managing the family-owned crematorium, where his questionable business practices led to a web of crimes.
- Beyond profit-driven methods, Sconce engaged in activities such as organ and body part sale, gold extraction from dental fillings, and even the suspected commission of a hit on a rival and the poisoning of another.
- Sconce's crimes landed him in prison for 21 criminal charges, including the mutilation of corpses, conducting mass cremations, and hiring hitmen, earning him a sentence of five years, later reduced to two and a half years.
- However, upon reoffending, Sconce was sentenced to 25 years to life and was eventually paroled in 2023, contributing to the general-news discourse surrounding the nature of justice and rehabilitation.
- The docuseries, "The Mortician," offers an in-depth look at the Sconce saga, presenting untold stories through interviews with Sconce himself, former employees, journalists, and victims, shedding light on the unfathomable transgressions that took place within the Pasadena's not-so-tranquil crematorium.
