18-05-2025
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.
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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
