The owner of a trauma cleaning business has apologised after a series of graphic crime scene photos were posted on their social media pages.
Crime Scene Cleaners had been sharing images of the aftermath of numerous jobs on social media, including suspected suicides, attempted suicides, assaults, sudden deaths, and domestic violence.
On Tuesday morning, RNZ revealed that, on the business’ Facebook account alone, there were aftermath photos of at least 30 trauma scenes, including 15 unattended deaths, two suspected suicides, and two photos showing human remains being cleaned off trains.
Some photos showed identifying features of properties and, sometimes in the comment section underneath, the business' account listed the suburb or town and the method or cause of death or near-death — a possible breach of the Coroner's Act.
An investigation is underway into Christchurch firm Crime Scene Cleaners. (Source: 1News)
Carl Loader, owner of Crime Scene Cleaners on Tuesday afternoon issued an apology and said the company’s social media pages had been taken down.
“We are deeply upset that our social media pages have caused the reaction that they have today. We sincerely apologise to anyone who has been offended by them.
“We had thought that by sharing some images from our work, we were raising awareness of some important social issues and what we do as a company.
“As a manager, I should have kept a closer eye on the content that was being shared. We have taken down all of our social media pages and will be reviewing our future on social media.”
Read more: Cleaners post graphic crime scene photos on social media
Loader earlier told RNZ the scene pictures were posted because it was a matter of "public awareness".
The business started its Facebook page in March 2019. RNZ found it started posting photos of scenes in April 2020.
Their Facebook page had more than 2000 followers, while their Instagram account had over 5000.
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