New owner takes over Murrieta funeral home

By: DEIRDRE NEWMAN - Staff Writer | Monday, December 19, 2005 9:16 PM PST ∞

MURRIETA ---- A new owner has taken over a downtown funeral home that one of the previous owners had to be evicted from by sheriff's deputies.

Peter Hamilton has assumed ownership of Valley Funeral Home on A Street and added "Murrieta" to the title. He took it over from previous owners ---- Lee Ann Wyskiver and her son, John ---- whose funeral home licenses were revoked by the state in October.

According to numerous sources, John Wyskiver had holed up in the funeral home, ignored customers' calls and locked the doors to the public in the months leading up to the eviction. He was escorted out peacefully by deputies Oct. 25, said Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Earl Quinata, a spokesman for the department.

Hamilton got his license to operate the home Nov. 8 and reopened it the same day. He had already begun ameliorating the customer discontent caused by the Wyskivers before he officially took over by doing things such as buying death certificates that customers had purchased from the previous owners, but never received.

He has added a banner to the side of the building that says "Under new ownership" and a sign on the door that says, "Come in, we're open." These tangible signs that the home now has an open-door policy illustrate Hamilton's commitment to repairing the relationship with the community that the Wyskivers left in tatters.

"My goal is to mend the fences that have been torn down," he said.

The saga of the funeral home ---- the only one in Murrieta ---- was first brought to the public's attention in August when Wildomar resident Kim Archer staged a protest outside the home for a week after she was stymied in her attempt to retrieve her mother's ashes from the Wyskivers.

Archer said recently that she was thrilled to see the new ownership signs up on the home. She said she has asked officials with the Murrieta Police Department several times to bring the Wyskivers' case to the district attorneys office for criminal fraud prosecution. If no one else brings the matter to the attention of the district attorney's office, she will do it herself, she said.

"Certainly, the crime they committed with my situation was fraud," she said. "They took my money and had no intention of doing the job."

Hamilton bought the home at a foreclosure sale in early August after the Wyskivers filed for bankruptcy last year. He has said he wasn't aware of anything amiss when he bought the business.

The funeral home went bankrupt in February 2004, according to the Internet Bankruptcy Library. At that time, its total assets were about $2 million and it owed about $987,000 in debt. The state revoked the Wyskivers' licenses in October.

It took two weeks to clear out the belongings of John Wyskiver to the point where the home could pass a state inspection, Hamilton said.

Hamilton, 50, a San Diego resident, said he has been involved in various facets of the funeral industry for 25 years. He also owns Options Funeral & Cremation Service in Lake Elsinore.

Taking over Options, which he began running in February, was not seamless either, he said. The previous owner, Michael Francis Brown, who owned the home under the name Pacific Cremation Care, is in prison after pleading guilty to illegally mutilating human remains.

So Hamilton is experienced at transforming beleaguered funeral homes and the perceptions of their customers. He and two employees run both of his facilities.

"We intend to do it the way it should be done," Hamilton said. "It starts with working with families in a respectful manner and with their loved ones in a respectful manner."

He is also remodeling the home and said he is poised to file an application with the city of Murrieta to expand by adding a patio that wraps around the building that will mainly be used for receptions. Now, the chapel can accommodate about 80 people. With the proposed addition, about 200 people could attend both a funeral service, with overflow seating and receptions, as long as the weather cooperates, he said.

Hamilton said he realizes that trust is something that takes some time to restore. He encourages those who made funeral arrangements for themselves under the Wyskivers to come in and show him their documents.

"Even though we deserve a clean slate, I understand it will be a while before people completely disassociate this business from the previous occupants," he said.

Contact staff writer Deirdre Newman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2623, or dnewman@californian.com.

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