A family was left devastated and in shock when they discovered a stranger’s body in their loved one’s casket, leading to one relative suffering a heart attack. Joey Espinosa’s relatives had gathered at a funeral home for his service, only to realize that the casket and the body inside did not belong to him. This distressing situation caused Laura Levario’s husband to have a heart attack due to the intense stress, requiring him to be on life support for three days.
After the initial confusion, the family was guided to another room at the Forest Lawn Covina Hills funeral home in California, where they found yet another incorrect casket. It took over an hour for the staff to locate the correct room, where the family could finally start mourning. Forest Lawn attributed the mix-up to a “scheduling error” and offered the family $200 (£150) as an apology, which was insufficient to cover the nearly $20,000 (£15,000) funeral costs. Consequently, the Espinosa family is now pursuing legal action against the mortuary for emotional distress and negligence.
Their lawyer expressed disappointment, stating that instead of grieving their loved one, the family was left searching for his body. The attorney emphasized the expectation of proper procedures when paying a substantial amount for services at a reputable facility like Forest Lawn.
This incident comes on the heels of two sisters encountering a similar ordeal when they found a stranger dressed in their mother’s clothes in a coffin at a different funeral home. The daughters raised concerns about the lack of resemblance between their mother and the person in the casket, prompting a search that eventually revealed their mother’s body in the embalming room.
Despite attempts by the funeral home to contact the family about the mix-up, the sisters claimed they never received any communication. Ultimately, the bodies were swapped, and the funeral service proceeded as planned.