Albrecht Funeral Home Inc

Before announcing his decision on Friday, July 20, Judge Van Hon told the family he could only address the legal issues before him, and that it was up to them whether the trial could bring closure or resolve their division.Von Hon's finding that the contract was breached came after a second day of testimony in the case brought by siblings Deb Grussing and brothers Cal, Jasen and Lane Albrecht against their father, John Wendell Albrecht, 75, and oldest brother, John Darron Albrecht, 49.The four are among 11 children in the Albrecht family. Nine of the children were referred to as the "estranged'' by the defendant throughout the trial.Judge Van Hon said he found there was a contract in place when the four siblings told funeral director Everett Bain of Wing-Bain Funeral Homes they would pay for the costs of their mother's burial as well as provide a monument. John Wendell Albrecht had expressed relief and approval when Bain told him of the offer, according to Bain's testimony, and Albrecht's doing so meant acceptance of the contract, the judge noted.The judge ordered John Wendell Albrecht to pay the defendants $1,566.78 for liability in taking the monument. He also ordered him to pay the same amount for conveying the monument when he hid it on the farm.In addition, the judge ordered John Wendell Albrecht pay each of the four plaintiffs $10,000 for the emotional distress caused them by the removal of the gravestone. He ordered John Darron Albrecht, as co-defendant, to pay each plaintiff $1,000 for his role in assisting his father.Both defendants in this civil case had previously been charged with felony theft for taking the monument and hiding it on the farm place. The monument was discovered missing in April of 2017, no more than a few weeks after it had been placed there. The two entered Alford pleas to the theft charges, in which they did not admit guilt but acknowledged the evidence was sufficient for conviction.The judge found that letters to the editor John Wendell wrote after bein...