Sacramento funeral home sent a stranger's body to grieving El Salvadorian family, suit says
Dreams of a better life in America coaxed Francisco Quintanilla to flee war-torn El Salvador. He left behind his family to work as a driver and in agriculture.
After decades in the U.S., Quintanilla, 76, became sick and died in November. Grieving, his wife and their three children awaited his body's return from a Sacramento funeral home to honor him with a proper El Salvadorian funeral. It often includes an open-casket ceremony that could last multiple days.
On the day of the December funeral, his family propped open his casket to a shocking discovery: La Paz Funeral Home sent a stranger's body to their home, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Quintanilla's family in Sacramento Superior Court against the funeral home.
And when Quintanilla finally arrived home in El Salvador — shipped by La Paz two weeks after the scheduled funeral — another gruesome discovery struck. A horrible smell drifted out of the casket. His purple skin shriveled. Fluid soaked through his clothing, the lawsuit said.
'Our final memory of Francisco is one we wish we could forget,' Quintanilla's wife, Maria Mercedes Medjia de Quintanilla, said in a statement.
Quintanilla's family alleged La Paz Funeral Services, Inc. failed to properly embalm their loved one and employed unlicensed staff. As a result, the family scuttled proper burial rituals, forgoing their cultural and religious practices, according to the lawsuit filed by Marcereau Law Group, a firm based in Orange County.
A call to La Paz Funeral Home was not immediately returned Wednesday. The Little Pocket business specializes in preparing bodies for Latino communities who will be buried outside U.S., the lawsuit said.
David Macpherson, the attorney for La Paz Funeral Services, Inc., said Wednesday he has not been served with the lawsuit.
The funeral home charged Quintanilla's family 'thousands of dollars' for its services and did not offer a refund, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit lists four causes of action: a breach of contract, negligence, negligent hiring and inflicting emotional distress on the family.
An attorney representing Quintanilla's family is seeking an unspecified amount of damages for his clients, according to the complaint.
La Paz Funeral Services' license was set to last until December. Its last inspection was in June 2023, according to the state's Department of Consumer Affairs.
A court hearing in the case was set for next year, according to the online court system.
'Francisco's life was one of resilience and devotion,' attorney Rob Marcereau in a statement. 'He deserved a dignified farewell, yet La Paz completely failed in their promise to treat him and his family with care and respect. This grieving family deserved better.'
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