Funeral home denies body mix-up, dresses stranger's corpse in suit
A California family is accusing a Compton funeral home of putting the wrong man in their loved one's casket — and even dressing the stranger's corpse up in his suit.
But when loved ones confronted the funeral home, a worker tried to convince them that they were ones mistaken, according to a lawsuit.
Amentha Hunt said her family was traumatised when they arrived at the Harrison-Ross Mortuary to say goodbye to her uncle Otis Adkinson, 80, only to be greeted with another man wearing his clothes.
'It was a guy laying there in my uncle's suit, but it wasn't my uncle,' Hunt told local KCAL News. 'It shouldn't have happened. I didn't make arrangements there to see the wrong body.'
When the family asked a mortuary worker for help, Hunt said the employee insisted that the stranger in the casket was her uncle.
It wasn't until she insisted there was an error and provided a picture of her uncle to the funeral home that the employee admitted to the mistake, Hunt told the TV station.
Hunt said it took three hours for the mortuary to fix the mix-up so her uncle could finally be laid to rest, but the image of the stranger in Adkinson's suit is still burned in her mind.
'It's hurt. I still think about it. That's something that's never going to go away, to view the wrong corpse,' she lamented. 'I still can see that guy.'
Elvis Tran, an lawyer representing Hunt, called the mortuary's actions outrageous, and showed that the business needs to change the way it operates.
'For them to come in and see the wrong corpse and for the mortuary to deny that it's the wrong corpse and then need proof that it's in fact the right person,' Tran told the local outlet.
'We think it's just a basic standard of care that they messed up on and that they really need to improve their ways, so they don't do this to another family,' he added.
Harrison-Ross Mortuary has denied the allegations against them and said they are preparing to file a cease-and-desist letter against her.
Adkinson, who died on February 28, 2025, was a Memphis native who worked for Southern California's Schaefer Ambulance Service as an EMT for 29 years before being promoted to supervisor, according to his obituary.
His family described him as a 'good ole country boy' who enjoyed fishing, barbecuing, dancing, and watching the Lakers play.
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
What we know about the suspected 'terror attack' at the Boulder mall
It happens every week in Boulder, Colorado. A group of volunteers from the Run for Their Lives organisation silently march through the streets to raise awareness of the hostages still held in Gaza. About 20 or 30 had turned up this Sunday, stopping at the courthouse where they usually read the names of those hostages. "There was somebody there that I didn't even notice," participant Ed Victor told CBS News. "Although he was making a lot of noise, but I'm just focused on my job of being quiet and getting lined up. "And from my point of view, all of a sudden, I felt the heat." Lynn Segal, 72, was also among the group gathered when a "rope of fire" shot in front of her and then "two big flares". She said the scene at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder, quickly turned chaotic as people worked to find water to put out flames and find help. "There were people who were burning. I wanted to help but I didn't want to be associated with the perpetrator," said Ms Segal, who said she was wearing a pro-Palestinian T-shirt. The FBI said the suspect allegedly shouted "Free Palestine" while using a makeshift flamethrower at a crowd of people. FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism. The Justice Department said the attack was a "needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans". However, local police in Boulder were cautious about describing the incident as a terror attack. Chief Redfearn said authorities received a call at 1:26pm on Sunday, local time, that indicated a man armed with a weapon was setting people on fire. Six people, aged between 67 and 88 years old, were injured. He said the injuries were consistent with reports of individuals being set on fire. They were taken to the Boulder Community Hospital with injuries ranging in severity from "very serious" to "minor", and some were later transported to other hospitals. At least one of them was in a critical condition, authorities said. The Boulder Police Department evacuated the pedestrian mall area. Law enforcement officers with a police dog walked through the streets, securing the area and examining a "vehicle of interest". Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old at the University of Colorado who witnessed the incident, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. She said one of them appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and someone had wrapped her in a flag. Ms Coffman described seeing a man who she presumed to be the attacker standing in the courtyard, shirtless, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid and shouting. The FBI has identified the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman. He was taken into custody at the scene and transported to hospital, but authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries. Officials did not immediately announce any charges but said they expected to hold him "fully accountable". Chief Redfearn said he did not believe anyone else was involved in the incident. Mark Michalek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Denver field office, said the federal law enforcement agency was investigating the attack. The incident came just weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington DC. In that case, authorities allege a Chicago-born man opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights anti-semitism and supports Israel. FBI director Kash Patel described the latest incident as a "targeted terror attack". His words were echoed by the bureau's deputy director, Dan Bongino, in a post on X. "This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts," Mr Bongino said. "We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it." However, Chief Redfearn called for caution, saying it would be irresponsible for him to speculate on motive so soon after the incident. "We've got dozens and dozens of people here working through this to work out exactly what happened." Colorado Attorney-General Phil Weiser, meanwhile, said the incident appeared to be "a hate crime". "My thoughts are with those injured and impacted by today's attack against a group that meets weekly on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall to call for the release of the hostages in Gaza," Mr Weiser said. "People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences. "Hate has no place in Colorado. We all have the right to peaceably assemble and the freedom to speak our views." Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 hostages. More than half the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel has rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's ensuing military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead are civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced about 90 per cent of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians, according to the United Nations estimates. ABC/wires
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Australian denied entry to US, strip searched and thrown in prison hits back at Homeland Security's reasoning
EXCLUSIVE An Australian woman who was strip searched and thrown in federal prison when denied entry to the United States to visit her American husband has hit back at Homeland Security after it aired details of her case on social media to defend its actions. Nikki Saroukos, a former NSW Police officer from southwest Sydney, told last week she was subjected to invasive searches and humiliating treatment for trying to spend time with her US military husband stationed in Hawaii. Ms Saroukos said she had successfully visited the state three times in recent months using an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) under the Visa Waiver Program, but this time turned into a nightmare. The US Department of Homeland Security later issued what it described as a 'fact check' on X after she went public with the ordeal, accusing her of having 'unusual activity on her phone, including 1000 deleted text messages from her husband'. But Ms Saroukos, who married her husband Matt in January after a whirlwind long-distance romance, said she was 'in disbelief at how ridiculous' the statement was and claimed that some of the information included had been 'twisted'. 'The reasons they came up with were not even justifiable to throw someone in prison anyway,' she told on Monday. Ms Saroukos strongly denies having any plans to live permanently in the US, and believes people are missing the point of her story, saying she was not hung up on the fact she had been denied entry to the country, but rather how she was treated. 'A country has a right to deport you if they don't want you in their country, fair enough,' she said. 'But I don't agree with the treatment … why are you throwing people in prison, why are they being subject to strip searches and cavity searches and being placed in handcuffs, like your rights taken away from you.' Homeland Security addresses the uproar Homeland Security said Ms Saroukos was selected for further screening at the airport on arrival to the US because of 'recent long-term trips' and 'suspicious luggage'. Then, 'officers determined that she was travelling for more than just tourism,' the statement said. The department went on to share details about Ms Saroukos' relationship. FACT CHECK: Nicolle Saroukos’s recent long-term trips to the United States and suspicious luggage resulted in her being reasonably selected for secondary screening by CBP. Officers determined that she was traveling for more than just tourism. She was unable to remember her… — Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 30, 2025 'She was unable to remember her wedding date just four months prior,' it said. 'Saroukos met her now-husband during a trip on December 13, 2024, the same day her ex-partner left her. The two spent only eight days together before she returned to Australia on December 21. Saroukos then got married on January 24, 2025, after only knowing her husband for just over a month. 'During screening, CBP (Customs and Border Protection) noted there was unusual activity on her phone, including 1000 deleted text messages from her husband because she claimed they caused her 'anxiety'. 'Saroukos even claimed that her husband was going to leave the US military, despite him telling CBP he was adding her to his military documents. 'If you attempt to enter the United States under false pretenses, there are consequences.' 'Ridiculous': Nikki Saroukos hits back Ms Saroukos told that while she generally agreed with the Homeland Security timeline, it left out that she had been talking to her now-husband on a dating app for months before they met in person in December. She denied meeting him for the first time the same day she split with her ex-partner. She explained that her relationship with her ex had been complicated, and although they had split earlier that year, they went on a holiday to Hawaii together but 'stayed in separate rooms'. 'I met my husband after my ex had left the island. I relocated to a different hotel, three days after I got that new hotel I then reached out to Matthew and we tried to organise to catch up,' she said. As for not remembering her wedding date, Ms Saroukos said her mind went blank during the hours of interrogation. 'I was crying at this point. I was under immense stress,' she said. 'With the decision of them coming out and saying 'she didn't remember her (wedding) date', I'm like it's not a criminal offence to forget a date? I mean, I don't even remember people's birthdays let alone a date under that amount of stress.' Explaining the 1000 deleted text messages, Ms Saroukos said if the couple were having a disagreement, she would delete their conversation on her iPhone to stop her re-reading the messages. She claimed there was nothing officials could not recover and read from the deleted section on her phone. 'They are just saying because I deleted the text messages, it's suspicious. Again, the only thing I can come back and say with that is, it's not a bloody crime to delete text messages between you and your partner,' she said. 'It's my f***ing phone. I'm not committing an offence. They've just grabbed that and run with it and they're missing out the fact they actually read the deleted text messages and there was nothing (illegal) there.' In regards to Homeland Security claiming there were varying statements from she and her husband about their future, she claimed the long-term plan was for her husband to apply for a visa and move to Australia after leaving the military, therefore she had no intention of getting a green card as a military spouse. Ms Saroukos told that her husband had only mentioned he would start an application for a green card while she was being questioned because of the sudden difficulty she was facing travelling with an ESTA. 'If I was going to move to the US, I would have done it a long time ago. I would not be spending thousands of dollars going back and forth on plane tickets to go see my husband and I would have already started an application if that was the case,' she said. 'Not once did I ever say nor was there any plan that I was going to permanently live in the United States.' Ms Saroukos still does not know for sure why her luggage was deemed suspicious, but based on comments from officers during inspection, she suspects maybe they thought she had too much luggage but argued she was 'not bringing anything illegal into the country'. 'Never been so terrified': Strip search horror Ms Saroukos travelled to Hawaii with her mother. They were taken to a holding area at Daniel K Inouye International Airport in Honolulu where their bags and documents were inspected. Her mother was free to go after the search but Ms Saroukos was taken to a second location where she was subjected to further interrogation. There, she said she was forced to surrender her phone and passwords, and questioned about her work as a former NSW Police officer. 'They questioned me about the demographic of my suburb and what crimes I was exposed to as a police officer,' Ms Saroukos told on May 22. 'They were asking me about ice and meth and whether I knew how much was being imported from New Zealand.' She said she had 'no idea' how to answer the questions and was 'just dumbfounded'. She was also grilled me on her income, marriage and phone history. Ms Saroukos was then subjected to a DNA swab, which she was given no explanation for, she claimed. She was further forced to sign a document declaring she was not a part of a cartel and had no affiliation with gang members. In the end, Ms Saroukos was still denied entry to the US. 'I've never been so terrified in my life. I froze. They said 'We'll be sending you to jail.' I was just shaking, sweating – I couldn't believe it,' she said. Ms Saroukos said she was handcuffed, subjected to an in-depth cavity search and taken to a federal detention facility, where she was fingerprinted again, ordered to strip naked, squat and cough, and handed prison issued briefs and green outerwear. After a night in prison, she was taken back to the airport to fly home to Sydney. Ms Saroukos said her mother and husband were not told of her whereabouts while she was detained. 'I never want to return to the United States,' she said, adding that her husband was she was hopeful her husband could eventually move to Australia. — with reporting by Ella Mcilveen Why denied tourists can end up in federal prison CBP has long had strong powers to deny entry, detain and deport foreigners at their discretion when travellers arrive in the country even if they have a valid visa or ESTA. However, what we are seeing under the Trump administration is described as 'enhanced vetting'. Australians are being warned to not assume they are exempt to more intense checks, including inspections of emails, text messages or social media accounts at the airport. Melissa Vincenty, a US immigration lawyer and Australian migration agent who is managing director of Worldwide Migration Partners, told recently that being taken to federal prison with no criminal record, no drugs or anything that is a danger to society is the reality of being denied entry to the US in Hawaii. Ms Vincenty, a dual-citizen who was a deportation defence lawyer in Honolulu before moving to Australia, explained the state did not have an immigration facility so people were taken to the Federal Detention Center Honolulu, where there was no separate wing for immigration. It meant tourists who were denied entry to the US could be held alongside those awaiting trial — or who have been convicted and were waiting to be transferred to a mainland prison for serious federal crimes, such as kidnapping, bank robbery or drug crimes. 'It's like in the movies — you go there and there's bars, you get strip searched, all your stuff is taken away from you, you're not allowed to call anybody, nobody knows where you are,' Ms Vincenty told in April after the experience of two young German tourists being strip searched and thrown in prison made global headlines. Ms Vincenty said for Australians who were denied entry to the US in other locations like Los Angeles, San Francisco or Dallas, being held in detention facilities until the next available flight home was a real risk as there weren't constant return flights to Australia — meaning you might have to wait until the next day. If not taken to a detention facility, some travellers may stay sitting for hours in what is called a secondary inspection at the airport. A secondary inspection includes further vetting such as searching a travellers' electronic devices. 'That period can last from half an hour to 15 hours or more,' she said.
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Trans athlete AB Hernandez sparks storm over podium celebration
Trans athlete AB Hernandez was seen grinning and flaunting medals after defeating female rivals at the California state track championship. Hernandez claimed gold in the high jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state finals – defying Donald Trump's executive order that bans trans athletes from women's sports. Violent protests erupted yesterday as the trans pupil, 16, sparked a heated row after competing in women's sports. Trump had said on social media that he was 'ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow' Hernandez to compete. But the CIF this week introduced a new policy that allowed an additional student to compete and win medals in the events where Hernandez qualified. This is why the trans athlete shared winning spots with at least one female rival. Hernandez claimed tied-first place in the varsity high jump final alongside Lelani Laruelle and Jillene Wetteland – both females. The trans athlete later won another first-place in the triple jump, sharing the top spot with Kira Gant Hatcher – who trailed by just over a half-metre. But the sports row surrounding Hernandez took a dramatic turn yesterday after furious protesters gathered around the stadium to denounce the trans teen. They were seen carrying placards and boards outside the Veterans' Memorial Stadium, where the sporting event took place. A banner reading 'NO BOYS IN GIRLS' SPORTS!' was flown above the sporting venue during the high school track-and-field championships. The protests quickly turned violent after one person was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Clovis police Sargeant Chris Hutchison told the Chronicle. He said the person – understood to be an LGBTQ activist – allegedly used a Pride flag to smash a car window, leaving a person injured. During the heats, furious high school parents berated Hernandez's mother for the trans athlete's dominant victory. The video, which has now gone viral on TikTok, shows the parents hounding Hernandez's mother for allowing the teen to compete. One of the parents can be heard yelling at the mother: 'What a coward of a woman you are allowing that.' Hernandez's story previously made headlines after another teenage girl, who the athlete beat to first place in a separate contest, waited for Hernandez to descend from the podium before moving to pose in the top spot. In the TikTok, the parent can also be heard shouting: 'Your mental illness is on your son, coward.' More than half of the US states have implemented bans on trans youth athletes participating since 2020. But California state law allows the participation of trans women and girls in women's sports. Trump posted on Truth Social: 'Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to.' His message refers to an Executive Order from February titled 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports'. In an interview with Capital & Main, Hernandez, from Jurupa Valley, California, said: 'There's nothing I can do about people's actions, just focus on my own.' The trans pupil faced heckling and protesters in the crowd at a track meet earlier this month and was accompanied by campus security and Sheriff's Department deputies, CNN has reported.
