Family horrified after discovering 'wrong man' in relative's casket at funeral
A California woman has spoken out after being presented with the deceased body of a total stranger at her uncle's funeral.
In the weeks prior, Amentha Hunt had taken on the responsibility of arranging the aftermath of her uncle Otis Adkinson's death, making plans for both a funeral and an intimate viewing.
The 80-year-old - who his family described as a 'good ole country boy', as per Metro - passed away on 28 February, after which his body was transported to Harrison-Ross Mortuary on Crenshaw Blvd.
The viewing of his body was scheduled to take place two months later, on 7 April.
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When the day that Adkinson's family arrived to bid him a final goodbye, however, they claims to have discovered another corpse lying in the casket they'd chosen for him. The stranger's body was also donning the complete outfit that the pensioner's family had previously picked out.
Led by Hunt and Adkinson's wife Willie Mae, the family have since filed a lawsuit against Harrison-Ross Mortuary, claiming the horrific situation was made worse by a funeral worker who allegedly dismissed their complaint. The mortuary denies the allegations against them.
The mortuary worker is said to have insisted that the group had made a mistake, and that the man inside the coffin was their uncle.
Recalling the incident in conversation with KCAL News, Hunt claimed: "It was a guy lying there in my uncle's suit, but it wasn't my uncle.
"I just kept looking at him. I was like, 'Wait a minute, he couldn't have gotten that dark.' "
Insisting she 'immediately' pointed out the mistake, Adkinson's niece claims a staff member rebuked her, claiming that it was in fact the correct body' - as per her legal complaint, which has been obtained by PEOPLE Magazine.
Hunt resorted to showing the mortuary staff member 'living picture' of her late uncle in an attempt to prove the error had occurred. 'Only then' did the employee in question 'realise their mistake' and apologise.
She allegedly spent the next 'several hours' waiting for staff to remedy the devastating blunder, with the 'wrong corpse' being taken to a different facility, and Adkinson's body placed back into the specially selected casket and suit.
By this point, however, Hunt says 'there was little to no time left for any viewing' they'd paid for.
"It shouldn't have happened,” she went on to tell the news outlet. "I didn't make arrangements there to see the wrong body.
"It’s hurting. 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."
The Adkinson family are now suing the funeral firm for both negligence and breach of contract. The document also accuses the mortuary of both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
One section of the lawsuit reads: "The mystery and horrific facts surrounding the treatment of [Otis] has caused and continue to cause [his family] immense mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, humiliation and emotional distress."
The family's attorney Elvis Tran also told KCAL of the incident: "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 lawyer added that the funeral firm 'really need to improve their ways so they don't do this to another family'.
Tran went on to tell PEOPLE in a follow-up statement: "This preventable error violated the family’s trust during a time of grief, causing significant emotional harm.
"This lawsuit seeks to ensure mortuaries uphold their sacred duty to families and to prevent other families from enduring similar trauma.
"Families in the Compton community and throughout Los Angeles deserve reliable and respectable service for their loved ones."
KCAL has since reported that Harrison-Ross Mortuary has denied the allegations made against them, and is planning to issue Hunt with a cease-and-desist letter.
Tyla also contacted the funeral firm for comment.
Rhianna Benson