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Detroit family says mother cremated by mistake
This all took place at the Hutchinson Funeral Home on East 7 Mile in Detroit as police blocked the doorway. FOX 2 saw officers showing up as more and more family members got word of the tense situation with the funeral set for Saturday.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Detroit funeral home has launched an internal review after the family of a woman who was supposed to be viewed before her funeral says her body was mistakenly cremated and another woman’s body was presented in its place.
Funeral home investigation
Big picture view:
The incident happened at Hutchinson Funeral Home on East 7 Mile Road in Detroit.
The children of 61-year-old Kimberly Moore say they arrived at the funeral home for their mother’s viewing, only to discover that the woman in the casket was not their mother. The family says they were then told Moore’s body had been cremated.
‘Where’s my momma?’ Detroit family says their mother was cremated by mistake at funeral home
A family in Detroit says they went to a viewing for their mother, only to find that she was cremated by mistake, but it gets worse. The family says the funeral home tried to pass off the body of someone else as their mom. Now police are investigating.
What they're saying:
"We are heartbroken and deeply sorry for what Ms. Moore’s family has experienced. We are aware of the family’s concerns and we will continue to communicate with them honestly and respectfully," the funeral home said in a statement. "We have launched our own internal review to determine exactly what happened and we will deal with it accordingly. Out of respect for Ms. Moore and her family, we ask that their privacy be honored during this time. We will share more when we can."
The Moore family is pressing for answers and is also trying to reach the family of the other woman whose body they say was presented to them.
"We get here. That’s not my momma," one family member said. "This woman got on my momma’s dress, wig, everything. They put the body up, so we came earlier. They tried to show us another lady. They opened the casket. It’s not her."
"I said, ‘Where’s my momma?’" the family member said. "One family member said, ‘Oh, she’s upstairs.’ And then my cousin said, ‘They just told us we didn’t have her. Now she’s here? Where is my momma?’"
"We know that there was an issue. We know there’s a problem, and we want to make it whole. We want to make the family feel comfortable with their loved one and make sure that we have some conclusion to this," said family spokesperson Mario Morrow.
What's next:
Moore’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday. Her family is trying to determine how to proceed following the incident.
Police are investigating the matter. The funeral home said it hopes to provide more information about what happened soon.
The Source: FOX 2 talked with Kimberly Moore’s family for information in this report.