FOLEY, Ala. — More than two months after the arrest of former Pine Rest Funeral Home director Tim Street, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office says about 30 people now claim they paid for services at the Foley funeral home and received nothing in return.
Sheriff’s officials say the case will go before a grand jury all at once, but assembling the documentation is expected to take a few more months.
A family waiting more than two years
Mike Batt says his family has been waiting more than two years for his mother’s name to be engraved on a marker at their family mausoleum. His mother died in 2024 and was laid to rest at Pine Rest Memorial Park in Foley.
“I’ve sent numerous emails through their system and left numerous voicemails, and no responses still yet to me,” Batt said.
“To go over there and find out just six months ago nothing’s been done for her…that was very sad for all of us,” Batt said.
Batt says he hoped things would improve after Street was arrested on charges of financial exploitation of the elderly.
“Since then, weekly, and have had very little communication or feedback or updates from the funeral home,” Batt said.
Dozens of families, similar stories
Detectives say dozens of families have reported paying for headstones or other services that were never provided. Investigators say the Pine Rest Funeral Home owners have fully cooperated with the investigation and are working to notify affected families.
Batt says he has kept meticulous records — receipts, emails and a document covering burial rights in the Magnolia Mausoleum. He says his nephew spoke with an area manager last month, who told the family the engraving was delayed after a truck broke down.
The family says it has now been promised the engraving will be finished by Sept. 5 — more than two years after his mother’s death.
Batt also shared a receipt from 2016, when his father paid for a cremation space next to his mother.
“He paid another thousand dollars for that. A thousand dollars plus a few years. And my dad and I sent emails back and forth. And we both were concerned with their communication. And we were not getting good confirmation and good documentation that everything was all set,” Batt said.
Others finally seeing results
After initial coverage of the case in June, Batt says he contacted another alleged victim who had been interviewed. She told him her late grandfather’s headstone finally arrived after Street’s arrest — more than a year after it was paid for.
Batt says he hopes his family will see results too. He has filed reports with both the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and the Alabama Board of Funeral Service.
“I just want the funeral home to follow through on their obligations financially on the contracts. That’s it. I’m not looking for anything else,” Batt said.
What happens next
Court records show Street was previously released on a $10,000 bond. The grand jury presentation is expected to consolidate the growing number of complaints into a single case, a process that allows investigators to organize payment records, contracts and witness statements before charges are considered.
For families still waiting, the advice from investigators and consumer advocates is consistent: gather every receipt, contract and piece of correspondence, and report problems to both law enforcement and the state funeral board. Batt says that is exactly what his family plans to keep doing until the promises made at the funeral home are kept.