Tell me you all know nothing about this, I swear to god I'm losing my Tell me why we're doing this and where the rest of the bodies are. >> A heartbreaking discovery in the woods becomes the catalyst for one of the most shockingly violent investigations in Maryland history. As grieving families demand answers and tensions explode, each new revelation somehow leads to something even worse. >> This is going to be bad. >> I'm waiting to open this. >> It's already bad. >> The following footage has never been seen before. It began in late March 2025 when a woman discovered several deceased animals in a wooded area just west of Baltimore. Using a microchip reader, investigators identify one as Jayda, but finding her here should have been impossible. According to her owner, Jayda recently passed away and she had been cremated. He received her ashes along with a paw print keepsake just 30 minutes before they contacted him. But as he explains to two detectives, he was confused by what he was given. >> That's the >> the paw print >> Yeah, the ashes is in the back of here. This is >> And that was the >> paw print That don't look like a 35-lb uh crunchy. It looks small. >> Yeah. No. >> He reveals that he used a company called Loving Care Pet Funeral and Cremation Service. Their website features recent clients and to their shock, investigators recognize each of the animals found in the woods listed among the names: Jayda, Raven, Rusty, Lola, Garcia, Shadow, and Bella. They quickly meet with the owner of Raven, a 13-year-old black German Shepherd who passed away peacefully in her sleep. >> We just looked online for a cremation place and we chose Loving Care based on the reviews. >> read the reviews. Everything was great. Everybody had pictures and I was like, "Okay, yeah." >> Reviews for the business feature glowing accounts from pet owners, many highlighting their experiences with the company and its owner, 54-year-old Rodney Ward. They contacted Rodney and he came to their home collecting Raven personally. The following day, Raven's family received a paw imprint along with what they now know are not her cremated remains. >> Animal Control, the officers are handling the case. They >> They thought it felt like flour. >> Flour, sugar. >> At this point, detectives have yet to determine exactly what the pet owners were given in lieu of ashes, but this question will later lead them to an answer almost impossible to comprehend. For now, the two detectives meet with the business owner, Rodney, determined to uncover how this happened. Rodney explains that he's been in the funeral industry for some time, but he only recently began working with pets. He's already aware of the current situation, having received a call from Jada's owner demanding answers that he says he doesn't have. >> And I said, "Well, sir, what I'm going to do is I'm going to refund your money immediately and I'm going to dig into what what's going on myself because Mhm. That's the right thing to do, I thought." >> So, where do you perform your cremations? >> My lawyer said not to disclose that until he gives me an okay. But, it is in the city. So, what happens is there's a gentleman that works in funeral service and I evidently thought that he worked at that crematory and he [music] said, "You know, look, bro, I can help you out with your cremations. I know that you're getting real busy right now, so I can help you out with your cremations." So, these set of pets we actually were overwhelmed with pets, so he said, "I can help you out." So, he came and we met and I gave him the pets and I thought that they would be in cremated and now here we are right now. >> Rodney identifies the man as Dewan Williams, an employee at another crematory. According to Rodney, he paid Dewan $75 per pet under the table to handle the cremations, with Dewan returning the ashes afterward. >> Do we know where Dewan lives? >> in North Carolina. I'm looking for his phone number right now. I just call him little D or D. So, I'm looking for his number right right now in my phone. >> While he provides Dewan's phone number, Rodney refuses to give the name of his employer, fearful it might drag them into the consequences of a business deal they knew nothing about. >> We're just trying to make sure it wasn't happening like long before and like I don't know, somebody uh ran out of room at their dumping spot or Do you know what I'm saying? >> Yes, ma'am. >> That's That's why I'm asking. >> Yes, ma'am. >> The detective is only speculating, but in a case with its most unthinkable revelations still ahead, she has no idea how close she is to the truth. The detectives ask for Rodney's help confirming the identities of the pets from the dump site. As they scroll through the photos, he volunteers information that raises eyebrows. >> We actually rode past there to see the area that it was. It's like, "Wow, this like isn't far from my house." Like, "Have you been Have you been there before?" Have I been there? >> Yes. >> What someone say they did saw me there? >> No, no. No, just trying to >> No, I've been >> it. That was a question, not a statement. >> Rodney is sent home for now, but he won't remain out of the detectives' sights for long, especially once they realize they've been deceived. According to police records, the phone number he provided for Dewan Williams is out of service, and no one in the industry appears to know anyone by that name. The business address on Rodney's website leads detectives to a home health care company whose owner has never heard of him. As detectives interview dozens of victims, a pattern begins to emerge. Many found Rodney's business through positive Google reviews before calling to arrange services. He would collect their pets from their homes and explain the process in detail. An interaction one client captured on a ring camera. >> Do you mind me asking like how do you guys process everything or do you have a alternative to do it? >> Yeah, yeah, we have our own retort and everything and um we processed it and um we have a talk like a grinder that wants the the the heat it once it is done. You basically just put it in the grinder like a commercial blender. >> Yeah, and it turns it to uh back to ashes. >> How's like how tall is that grinder? >> Rodney would appear well dressed either in a sweater or jacket bearing his company logo. He was repeatedly described by the clients as a godly man who came off as sympathetic and kind. >> All right, well, thank you all so much. I appreciate you all. >> Thank you, Mr. Rodney. I appreciate you. >> just check on you all. >> Sounds good. Thank you, sir. >> You too, sir. Thank you. >> He's a really nice guy. He picked a good one. I don't know any other ones. >> It's Rodney. >> I thought he was over over sympathetic. I don't know if that makes sense. Yeah, he wanted to touch my shoulder, touch my arm, tell me you've been through so much. I'm going to take it from here and he was just like like he was acting almost. >> With each client, Rodney arrived in a dark sedan and placed the family's pet inside his trunk. They would later receive a shadow box which contained a framed photo. The box supposedly held their cremated remains, but once the families began to look more closely, the truth was quickly exposed. >> You can smell that one. I mean, that's definitely sand. Each sand right there. >> And you can smell straight concrete as soon as you open it. It's a concrete mixture. >> Some of the supposed ashes even contained foreign objects made of plastic and metal, but these wouldn't be the worst of what they eventually discover in some of the cremains. Two weeks after the discovery in the woods, detectives arrive at Rodney's home alongside Baltimore police officers and animal control, where one discovery after another is about to change everything. >> That's what I'm [clears throat] afraid of. We're locked tight, dude. >> Police department, search warrant. Come to the door. >> [clears throat] >> Come to the door. >> Yeah, come out. Magic. >> Come out right now. Come out right now. >> Come out. Search warrant. >> Things get off to an interesting start as Rodney answers the door completely naked. >> Who else is in the house? Who else is in the house? Okay. >> Have her come Ma'am, come down the steps. >> Yep. >> Step over here. Step over here. >> I'll hold the door. >> So So many take him. I'm going to go with Schmidt's. >> What is going on? >> Ma'am, we have a search warrant for the house. Is there anybody else in the house? >> No, sir. >> Okay. >> No, sir. >> Stay with him. >> [laughter] >> Yolanda, just calm down. Yolanda, just calm down. There's nobody else in here. Just me and my wife. >> Okay, we're just going to make sure. >> Rodney and his wife, Yolanda, sit on the couch as officers clear the house, starting with a basement that's in a shocking state. >> Police department. >> Ma'am, are you okay? >> Ma'am, come down here. Show yourself. >> Whoa. Holy That's going to be tough to even get in here. >> Though they have their work cut out for them, the discoveries that are waiting in the basement are quickly eclipsed by what they find outside, a large black hearse covered with a tarp. >> tons of flies >> full of water >> I can smell it. I can smell it. >> Should I open the window and let air out? I'm about to vomit. >> You kidding me right now? Those are all dead flies. >> Any evidence inside? That whole pile of them. It's going to be bad. >> I'm waiting to open this. >> It's already bad. >> It's leaking out the back of the car. >> Investigators can already see that the hearse holds the remains of multiple animals in advanced stages of decay, but fully confronting what the hearse contains is a task they decide to save for last. Meanwhile, as Rodney gets dressed, one of the detectives confronts him. When Rodney once again points to Dewan, tensions quickly rise. >> There's a whole pile of carcasses out there. >> Okay, but that's what I'm saying to you. You're That's the same thing you asked me at the office. Who is the guy? And I gave you the >> us that you had a hearse full of animals in in your backyard uh when you came to my office? Did you tell us that? Why not? Why not? Why wouldn't you tell me that? >> At that time, sir, to be honest with you, I didn't even think about it. >> Even if Dewan was a real person, the discovery of the hearse severely complicates Rodney's story. >> Rodney >> You paid him to take the bodies and he didn't take the bodies. >> him to cremate. >> And but yet you have the bodies. How's that work? How's he cremate the bodies you have? Think about that, Rodney, while I go upstairs cuz your line of bull doesn't match up. >> This won't be the last time he confronts Rodney as searches upstairs and in the basement reveal evidence with deeply disturbing implications. >> He picks up bodies at hospice places. >> Oh, really? >> Yeah. He's doing some weird stuff. >> Here's a trip log. Yeah, this looks like people. That's what you got over there, is people? >> Yes. I got people and now I'm getting pets, too. >> This brings into question a chilling claim one of the pet owners shared with investigators. >> I mean, they just posted this on the site that they opened a bag of ashes and there's dental crowns inside of them. Human dental crowns. >> My god. >> Yeah. >> Here's another box with somebody's name on it. Cremated remains of Thomasina Chambers. >> That's for her. >> Is it heavy? >> It doesn't feel like there's anything in there. >> It's not the only box they find meant to hold human remains, and each one is completely empty. As Rodney's secrets begin to surface, his wife Yolanda becomes visibly overwhelmed. A detective separates her from Rodney and takes her upstairs to speak privately. At this point, they don't know the full extent of her involvement, but she quickly becomes a wealth of information. >> How long has he been doing this? >> He started the business 20 20 We got the end EIAN 2023. >> Uh-huh. >> He didn't start doing pets until 2024. Okay, >> [laughter] >> September. And that was his business, so I didn't get involved. >> September 2024? >> Yes. >> If this is true, Rodney has been collecting deceased animals from grieving families for at least 7 or 8 months. >> I left that up to him. >> Uh-huh. >> Because I didn't That's not my area of expertise. I'm a church secretary. I work for mental health. >> I Yeah, I know. >> Secretary. >> [laughter] >> Yolanda admits she drove him to pick up the animals and on occasion has accepted payment from Rodney's clients on his behalf. Down in the kitchen, animal control finds a record linking one of these clients to one of the unchipped dogs found in the woods. >> This is one of the dogs we have in the freezer at work. >> Which Who's that? >> Shadow. We have this dog. >> Did we talk to her? >> No, cuz we didn't know who the owner was. >> The remaining records in Rodney's home would eventually allow investigators to identify and locate the owners for every pet that was cruelly discarded at the dump site. Down in the basement, officers find damning evidence against Rodney, a ripped-open bag of cement powder, and a bag of sand. >> Oh, >> [snorts] >> that's a keeper. >> Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. >> Oh. >> Yeah, I wouldn't move that. >> Yeah. >> Cuz it's easy And look, it's got a spoon with it. Like they're putting it in bags. That looks good. >> Additionally, officers locate a fake badge reading "Office of the Chief Medical Examiner" with Rodney's name and photo. He's urgently called downstairs, and it's clear that the detective has had enough of his lies and schemes. >> Listen. There's There's cement that I was showing you about. >> Do not Don't Don't Don't tell me you don't know nothing about this. This is where I got to lose my >> Tell me why we're doing this and where the rest of the bodies are. >> Sir, I don't know where the other animals are. I'm I only know those few that he said is the few of them. So, I'm saying >> That is cement. You're doing it. >> No, D. I'm not doing it. I'm not >> You have cement in your house. Who else lives here? >> so >> You told me you and her are the only people who live here. >> This is not >> bag of cement with a spoon in it, Rodney. >> Okay. >> So, talk. Tell me what's what. >> When Rodney simply repeats his claims that Dejuan is responsible, the detective forces him to face the cold reality of what's coming. >> That's the wrong way to go, I'm telling you. I'm telling you. Everything's recorded, and everybody's going to see your lack of empathy and give a Everyone's going to see it because because there's no other person coming in your house and loading cement up. Show me where you're fixing something with cement in here. Do you understand? >> Yeah, I understand. >> You You You You were not understanding cuz I'm telling you people care more about animals than they care about people. >> I know that. I I know >> is pretty damning, isn't it? >> At this point, no matter what I say >> No matter what I do, you can't tell the truth. Correct. Yes. You're staring at evidence of it, and you're still >> No. Not Not me. >> owning up to nothing. Rodney, good luck, buddy, cuz I'm telling you right now ain't nobody going to give you a chance. Nobody. Good luck. Let's go back upstairs. >> But, as Rodney heads back up, Yolanda comes down, and she quickly joins the detective IN DEMANDING ANSWERS. >> MISS YOLANDA, THE BAG OF CEMENT HAS A spoon in it. It's cut in the middle, and it's just been scooped out. It's nothing for [laughter] fixing it. And some of the remains we HAVE IS CEMENT. >> OUTSIDE, INVESTIGATORS PREPARE TO fully uncover the contents of the hearse. As one officer watches from the staircase, he draws a disturbing connection to the gruesome discovery he made in the Nicole Johnson case, which EWU covered in 2025. >> This is just like when I found them two kids in the trunk of the car. Have you had one of those? >> What's in there, bro? >> This is this the smell is just this is just what what I was getting >> You had them in the trunk over a year? And you never get over that, do you? Nope. >> Animal control officers begin the arduous task of removing animal remains from the back of the hearse, one after the other. Some are still wrapped in the same blankets their owners lovingly placed around them, raising hopes that they may eventually be identified. >> Oh, Snoopy. I mean, it's so sad and adorable. >> Every one of them people wanted their dog cremated. Yet, they sit there in a in a in a uh hearse >> [clears throat] >> back in his loser house. >> You can LOSE ME. YOU HAVE LOST ME NOW BECAUSE THIS IS I HAVE TWO, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT CORPSES IN OUR HOME. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? RIGHT NOW, I WANT TO BEAT THE OUT OF YOU. >> GO AHEAD. GO TO I DON'T CARE. >> YOU SAID THAT'S WHAT I TOLD YOU THE OTHER DAY. YOU DON'T CARE. >> BUT I'M DEAD AND YOU >> NO SMOKING. ABSOLUTELY NOT. >> IT'S bad enough I got to smell these animals, and I ain't smelling your cigarette smoke. >> Officers watch from the kitchen, sheltered from the smell, but confronted by the sheer scale of the task now facing detectives and animal services. >> How many animals did they have? >> I don't know what's an animal what's not, to be honest. >> I'd say 20 so far that we can count. >> You saw that animal control guy? He is hardcore. He is no booties, no nothing, just gloves. He's just reaching with gloves, no mask, no nothing. That dude is more man than I am. >> With the help of animal control, the detective catalogs 39 deceased pets, many of which are decomposed beyond recognition. For those without microchips or anything distinctive, such as collars or blankets, there's little hope they will ever be traced back to the families who loved them. For many, justice may now be the only form of closure they will ever receive. >> I will never have peace now. >> You'll have peace. >> How? >> You will. >> You think this is freaking dope. >> No, you'll have peace. You'll have peace. Whatever is going to happen to you will happen to you and you'll be exonerated. You'll be cleared. You had nothing >> Rodney, my name is caught in this mess. MY NAME IS CAUGHT UP IN THIS MESS. >> But the work is far from finished and the extent of Yolanda's involvement remains to be seen. As investigators work to strengthen their case against Rodney, one client reveals just how far he was apparently willing to go. >> One of my friends that I had her mother was in the hospital dying at Christmas time and we had talked to him around the time and at the time he had told us that he does human funerals, human cremations. Like he's an all around funeral guy. And so I told her, I was like, "Hey, we have a guy." Talked to him, he's like, "Yeah, I'll do it for $1,500." And so I told her, thank God she worked something out with the hospital and the the hospital people she was dealing with, but he was ready to take a human body. >> Knowing Rodney had no crematory makes his willingness to accept her friend's mother infinitely more disturbing. Because whatever he intended, cremation was an unlikely option. Detectives then turned to Yolonda's involvement, hoping to put to rest whether she was truly oblivious to her husband's secrets. But her neighbor believes that if she did know the truth, there's a reason she might have been apprehensive to tell it. She claims that Rodney was physically violent toward Yolonda, and on at least one occasion, she could hear him hitting her from next door. >> That's all I have, but I do know that he was abusive to her. So, I'm thinking maybe she was scared to come forward. I don't know. I really don't know. >> In late August, after a grueling months-long investigation, detectives are finally ready to make their move. Warrants are issued for both Rodney and Yolonda, but when the time comes to make their arrests, they run into a serious problem. >> He has gone. This is Corporal Schilling from the police department. May I step in and talk to you for a second? Is anybody else here with you? >> Yeah, one boy. >> Okay. Is it Is anybody living here? >> Only working, not living. >> Only working. Okay. >> The house is now empty, occupied only by workers as they complete renovations. While Rodney is nowhere to be found, Yolonda is quickly located at an apartment complex. >> I'm getting locked up? >> Yep, you have a warrant. Turn around and put your hands behind you. >> warrant? >> Yep. Don't explain anything to you. Are you married? >> I am married, but separated. >> Okay. >> What in the world? >> Where is um where's he staying at? >> He was at I left him there. >> You left You left him there? >> Yes. >> Okay. Do you know that for a fact that he's still living there? >> I don't. >> No? >> I do not. The landlords have sold the house. So. >> All right, take a [laughter] deep breath. Look. So, I mean, you probably knew this was coming at some point. >> No, I didn't know. >> Look, you got to take a deep breath. Listen to me, okay? Miss Yolonda, you got to take a deep breath and calm down, okay? We're going to make this as easy as we can, but when you get I rate or hysterical, it doesn't help, okay? >> Yolanda is transported to jail and soon released on a $100,000 bond. Nearly a week after her arrest, officers return to the same apartment where they first found her, hoping for a lucky break on locating Rodney. >> Rodney here. All right, where is the other There There you go. >> All right, Rodney. >> Make your day. >> He's uh >> You got something to put on? >> That's what I was about to do. That's fine. >> And once again, Rodney is nude from the waist down. As he gets dressed and is allowed to brush his teeth, he asks some questions of his own. >> What made y'all come here? >> Cuz you were here. >> Yeah. How did I know I was here? >> It's all about psychology, you know? And we You know that we were here last week. So, you think we're not going to come back here by accident? >> Can I um take take these shoes off now? >> You can, if you want to. >> After months spent unraveling Rodney's deception and fighting for the families he devastated, the detective lays it all out on the table. >> All of the cremains I collected, not a one of them was cremated. They've all been analyzed. >> According to police records, each of the remains were sent to a university for testing. Disturbingly, several of the bags contained human materials. >> There were human teeth in a couple of them. Where did they come from? >> I don't know, because again, that's how he gave them back to us. >> Obviously, you don't cremate because we collected boxes from the house with folks' names on them, and they were human cremains. Do any of the teeth that were in these >> No, because >> belong to these folks? >> No, those are just holding but those are just holding boxes. >> Where did all the other animals go? >> I don't know, because nobody can't Nobody still hasn't said that they descriptively saw me throw these animals in the woods. Like, no one has said, "I saw him do that." And I did not When you came to me when y'all came to me and and sorry but my mouth is real dry and parched and I just want to you know get Can I Can I have some water by my chair? >> I got it. I don't I don't >> I understand. I understand. >> The interrogation continues for over an hour and Rodney reveals nothing. Still, thanks to the relentless efforts of investigators, he faces 56 charges including felony theft and malicious destruction of property. According to court documents, Rodney's wife Yolanda entered an Alford plea to one count of conspiracy to commit theft, meaning she maintained her innocence while acknowledging prosecutors had enough evidence to convict her. She received a 5-year suspended sentence and 5 years of supervised probation. As for Rodney Ward, he ultimately pled guilty to one count of felony theft and just five counts of malicious destruction of property. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution to affected families. Following this case, the governor went on to sign a bill which aims to strictly regulate pet cremation providers. The bill goes into effect on October 1st, 2026. As for the human material discovered, its origin remains a mystery. To date, there is no publicly documented indication that the tested remains were ever identified or linked to a specific person. Watch our full videos as they were originally made with no randomly muted words or details cut. 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