Family expecting to see late mom in casket discover a stranger after funeral home 'cremated wrong woman'
A grieving family in Michigan have demanded answers after finding a stranger lying in their mother's casket.
Bianca Robinson and her relatives had gathered at Hutchinson Funeral Home in Detroit to pay their final respects to 61-year-old Kimberly Moore.
Instead, Robinson looked down at the woman resting in the coffin and realized the body did not belong to her mom.
Speaking to local outlet KWTX News 10, Robinson explained she knew there had been a mistake after checking the stranger's feet.
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She said: “I didn’t see that mole that my mom has on her feet."
It prompted her to flag down a funeral home worker to address the issue.
She added: "I looked at that man and I said, 'Sir, this is not my mama', and he said it just like this, he said, ‘I’m sorry. They must have cremated your mom a week or two ago. I’m so sorry’.”
Moore's daughter continued: “We need answers. This is crazy. We don’t deserve this. She don’t deserve this."
To make matters worse, the family claims they have still not received the ashes that the funeral home insists belong to Moore.
“I’m just trying to figure out where my mom is,” Bianca added.
Despite having no physical remains to mourn, the family decided to move forward with a scheduled celebration of life service for Moore on Saturday September 19.
The shocking mix-up comes despite Moore having actually pre-planned all of her own funeral arrangements to save the family from dealing with any unnecessary stress.
“I can’t understand this because in the end she left everything set up for us so we didn’t have to worry about her funeral money and all that,” one relative shared.
“She left everything beautiful and I can’t believe that this happened to her.”
Hutchinson Funeral Home has since issued a statement addressing the mix-up.
“We are heartbroken and deeply sorry for what Ms. Moore’s family has experienced. We have launched our own internal review to determine exactly what happened, and we will deal with it accordingly,” the statement read.
In a tragic turn of events, Joseph Hutchinson Jr. - the vice president of the funeral home - died just days after the family reported the mix-up.
While his death has not been connected to the cremation incident, the Detroit facility is now facing intense scrutiny over its operating protocols.
The Hutchison family has asked for privacy as they grieve his sudden passing.
Dr Mark Evely, who teaches Mortuary Science at Wayne State University, explained that funeral homes must verify a deceased person's identity throughout the process.
"We also have to check ID, verify ID and document that ID before final disposition takes place, either burial or cremation," Evely said per CBS News.
UNILAD has contacted Hutchinson Funeral Home for a comment.
Joe Yates