Latest news with #HarrisonRossMortuary
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Family horrified to find wrong man in loved one's casket while saying final goodbyes
A grief-stricken relative was left horrified after she went to bid farewell to her elderly uncle - only to discover another man wearing the suit she had chosen for him lying inside the casket. To add insult to injury, traumatised niece Amentha Hunt then claimed funeral home workers asked for 'proof' the wrong body was lying inside the coffin. The unfortunate error has led the family of Otis Adkinson, 80, to launch a lawsuit against Harrison-Ross Mortuary, in Los Angeles, California. Speaking to KCAL News, Ms Hunt, from Compton, said the incident had left her family traumatised. 'It shouldn't have happened. I didn't make arrangements there to see the wrong body. 'It was a guy laying there in my uncle's suit, but it wasn't my uncle.' She immediately approached an employee at the mortuary to ask what had happened, only to then be told: 'That's your uncle.' When she continued to deny that was her relative, she then pulled out a photograph of Mr Adkinson, at which point the employee agreed the wrong body had been placed into the coffin. It took a further three hours for the mortuary to fix the error so that her uncle could finally be laid to rest, but Ms Hunt said she has been left distressing at the sight of seeing her relative in a suit picked out by herself and her aunt. 'It's hurt. I still think about it. That's something that's never going to go away, to view the wrong corpse. I still can see that guy.' Elvis Tran, an lawyer representing Hunt, described the mortuary's actions as outrageous. He said: '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. '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.' Harrison-Ross Mortuary denied the allegations against them and said they are preparing to file a cease-and-desist letter against Ms Hunt. Mr Adkison was born on November 2, 1944, in Memphis, Tennessee, as the second of five children, according to an obituary posted online. He was married to his wife, Willie Mae, for 56 years until his death and spent 29 years working for Schaefer Ambulance Service as an EMT.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
California family sues funeral home after finding wrong body in uncle's casket
A California family is suing a funeral home after it put the wrong man in the casket and dressed him in their loved one's clothes, and workers even attempted to say the family was mistaken upon being confronted about the error. Amentha Hunt says she arrived at Harrison-Ross Mortuary in Compton to prepare her uncle, 80-year-old Otis Adkinson, for burial when she noticed another man was inside the casket, according to KCAL. "It shouldn't have happened," Hunt told the outlet. "I didn't make arrangements there to see the wrong body." Long Island Sisters Sue Funeral Homes Allegedly Responsible For Burying Stranger Instead Of Their Loved One "It was a guy laying there in my uncle's suit, but it wasn't my uncle," she added. "I just kept looking at him. I am like, 'He couldn't have gotten that dark.'" Hunt said she brought the issue to the attention of a mortuary worker, but the worker initially dismissed her concerns and claimed that it was her uncle inside the casket. Read On The Fox News App "That's not my uncle," Hunt said. "My uncle wouldn't have gotten that dark ... I showed a picture and she said, 'Yeah, you're right, give us one minute.'" Hunt said she and her family waited three hours while the mortuary fixed the mix-up before they could bury her uncle. It is unclear whose body was in the casket dressed in her uncle's suit. "For them to come in and see the wrong corpse, and for the mortuary to deny it's the wrong corpse, we think it's really just a basic standard of care that they messed up on," Hunt's attorney, Elvis Tran, told KCAL. "They really need to improve their ways so they don't do this to another family." The funeral home has denied the allegations and is preparing to file a cease-and-desist letter against Hunt. Family Sues After Funeral Home Allegedly Put Wrong Body In Mother's Casket Hunt said she is still traumatized by seeing someone else in the suit she chose for her uncle. "It's hurting," she said. "To view the wrong corpse, I still can see that guy." Adkinson, a Memphis native, died on Feb. 28. He was described by his family as a "good ole country boy" who enjoyed fishing, barbecuing, dancing and watching the Los Angeles Lakers, according to his article source: California family sues funeral home after finding wrong body in uncle's casket
Fox News
19-05-2025
- Fox News
California family sues funeral home after finding wrong body in uncle's casket
A California family is suing a funeral home after it put the wrong man in the casket and dressed him in their loved one's clothes, and workers even attempted to say the family was mistaken upon being confronted about the error. Amentha Hunt says she arrived at Harrison-Ross Mortuary in Compton to prepare her uncle, 80-year-old Otis Adkinson, for burial when she noticed another man was inside the casket, according to KCAL. "It shouldn't have happened," Hunt told the outlet. "I didn't make arrangements there to see the wrong body." "It was a guy laying there in my uncle's suit, but it wasn't my uncle," she added. "I just kept looking at him. I am like, 'He couldn't have gotten that dark.'" Hunt said she brought the issue to the attention of a mortuary worker, but the worker initially dismissed her concerns and claimed that it was her uncle inside the casket. "That's not my uncle," Hunt said. "My uncle wouldn't have gotten that dark ... I showed a picture and she said, 'Yeah, you're right, give us one minute.'" Hunt said she and her family waited three hours while the mortuary fixed the mix-up before they could bury her uncle. It is unclear whose body was in the casket dressed in her uncle's suit. "For them to come in and see the wrong corpse, and for the mortuary to deny it's the wrong corpse, we think it's really just a basic standard of care that they messed up on," Hunt's attorney, Elvis Tran, told KCAL. "They really need to improve their ways so they don't do this to another family." The funeral home has denied the allegations and is preparing to file a cease-and-desist letter against Hunt. Hunt said she is still traumatized by seeing someone else in the suit she chose for her uncle. "It's hurting," she said. "To view the wrong corpse, I still can see that guy." Adkinson, a Memphis native, died on Feb. 28. He was described by his family as a "good ole country boy" who enjoyed fishing, barbecuing, dancing and watching the Los Angeles Lakers, according to his obituary.
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- News.com.au
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.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Woman Claims Funeral Home Put the 'Wrong Corpse' in Her Uncle's Suit and Casket — and Tried to Deny the Mistake
Amentha Hunt claims that when she attended her late uncle's viewing in April, she found a stranger in his suit and casket instead of him Along with her uncle's wife, Hunt is now suing Harrison-Ross Mortuary for the mix-up, which she claims staff tried to deny, requiring her to show photos to confirm the body was not him Harrison-Ross Mortuary has denied Hunt's claims, and is reportedly preparing to send a cease-and-desist letter to herWhen a California woman arrived to mourn her late uncle, she said she was shocked to see the body of a complete stranger — and even more shocked when a mortuary worker allegedly told her she was wrong. After his death in February, Otis Adkinson's family made arrangements at Harrison-Ross Mortuary's Crenshaw Blvd. location for a viewing and funeral service. When Otis' niece, Amentha Hunt, arrived for the viewing on April 7, she was shocked to see a stranger in the casket where her uncle should have been, according to her complaint filed in court and viewed by PEOPLE. Not only was the 'wrong corpse' in her uncle's casket, but the stranger was wearing the suit the family had handpicked for the viewing, according to the document that Hunt and Otis' wife, Willie Mae Adkinson, filed against Harrison-Ross Mortuary on May 15. "It was a guy lying there in my uncle's suit, but it wasn't my uncle," Hunt recalled to CBS affiliate KCAL News. 'I just kept looking at him. … I was like, 'Wait a minute, he couldn't have gotten that dark.' " Naturally, Hunt 'immediately' attempted to remedy the error, but a staff member at the mortuary insisted that the body in the casket belonged to her uncle, she claims in the lawsuit. The employee she spoke with doubled down, insisting 'that it was in fact the correct body,' per the complaint. So Hunt showed 'living pictures' to the employee to prove that the body in the casket was not her uncle's — and 'only then' did the staff member 'realize their mistake,' the complaint alleges. It took 'several hours' to remedy the mix-up — take the incorrect corpse to another facility, switch the suit to the correct body and place it in the casket — by which time 'there was little to no time left for any viewing,' per the complaint. And it should not have been necessary in the first place, according to Hunt. "It shouldn't have happened,' she told KCAL News. 'I didn't make arrangements there to see the wrong body.' The mortuary has denied Hunt's allegations and is preparing to send Hunt a cease-and-desist letter to her, according to KCAL News. Harrison-Ross Mortuary did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Sunday, May 18. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Along with her aunt, Hunt is suing the business for negligence and breach of contract, as well as both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Hunt and Willie Mae 'have suffered tremendously' from the mortuary staff's 'shameful conduct,' the complaint alleges. 'The mystery and horrific facts surrounding the treatment of [Otis] has caused and continue to cause' the pair 'immense mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, humiliation and emotional distress,' per the lawsuit. 'It's hurting. I still think about it,' Hunt told KCAL News. 'That's something that's never going to go away, to view the wrong corpse. I still can see that guy.' Hunt and her aunt also claim that the rest of the family was impacted, stating in the complaint that relatives at the April 7 viewing were 'extremely distraught leading to confusing, emotional distress' and arguments about the mix-up. In a statement to KCAL News, Hunt's attorney, Elvis Tran, said, 'For them to come in and see the wrong corpse, and for the mortuary to deny that it's the wrong corpse … we think it's really just a basic standard of care that they messed up on.' The funeral home's staff, Tran added, 'really need to improve their ways so they don't do this to another family.' Read the original article on People
