Latest news with #wrongbody
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.
