ORLANDO, Fla. – State investigators have identified the cremated remains of nine people and one dog found at a former state guardian’s Orlando office in August, Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials said.
Rebecca Fierle resigned last summer as a state-appointed guardian when she came under fire for allegedly abusing her power by filing do-not-resuscitate orders on many of the wards under her supervision without family or court permission. A judge stripped her of nearly 100 cases after the accusations came to light.
Under Florida law, a judge appoints guardians for minors and adults with mental or physical disabilities, allowing them to make financial and medical decisions.
Ten sets of cremations and one cremated dog were discovered on Aug. 5 while FDLE agents were executing a search warrant of Fierle’s office on Hillcrest Street in Orlando.
Agents are in the process of securing court orders for the remains in order to release them to next-of-kin or a legal guardian, according to the FDLE.
One set of remains has yet to be identified and FDLE agents are continuing to try and identify the final set.
The cremated remains found at her office does not necessarily constitute a crime, however, the investigation into Fierle and her guardianship business is ongoing, according to the FDLE.
Fierle failed to submit nearly $4 million in invoices sent to AdventHealth to the court that appointed her to watch over hundreds of patients, according to an investigation by the Orange County Comptroller’s Office and a separate investigation found she also did not report nearly $100,000 in payments from an assisted living facility in Altamonte Springs.