A Detroit family says Hutchinson Funeral Home cremated their mother’s body by mistake and then displayed a different woman, dressed in their mother’s clothes and wig, at what was supposed to be her final viewing.
Kimberly Moore, 61, died and was scheduled to be laid to rest on Saturday. Her family arrived at the funeral home on Friday for the viewing, expecting to say their last goodbyes.
Instead, they say they found a stranger in the casket, dressed in Moore’s own dress and wig. Moore’s daughter, Bianca Robinson, said she told staff plainly: “This is not my momma sir.”
Robinson had gone to the funeral home to do her mother’s nails and lashes when a mortuary worker allegedly asked her, “Is this yo Mom?” Robinson said her response was disbelief: “And I’m looking like, ‘you should know.'”
Another relative described the scene to FOX 2, saying the body in the casket was wearing Moore’s dress and wig but was not Moore. “They tried to show us another lady. They opened the casket, it’s not her,” the family member said.
Robinson said a mortuary employee then explained that two women had come into the funeral home around the same time as her mother, and that a mix-up may have occurred. “Your mom must have been cremated when she first got here because it was two ladies that was here that came in when your mom came,” the employee allegedly told her. “He said, ‘We must’ve cremated her.'”
Robinson said she asked the obvious question: “How do you make a mistake like that?”
Relative Christopher Moore said funeral home staff offered an explanation involving a paperwork failure. He said staff “think the toe tag got wet and fell off and that’s how her body got mixed up with somebody else’s body.”
Hutchinson Funeral Home issued a statement to FOX 2 acknowledging the family’s ordeal.
“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.
The statement continued: “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.”
Moore’s family had planned for her cremation to take place after Saturday’s funeral, specifically so relatives would have the chance to view her body one final time beforehand. Now they say that chance, and even her remains, have been taken from them.
“We don’t have a viewing. What do we have? We don’t even have her ashes! Somebody please tell us something,” Robinson said.
The New York Post reported it reached out to Hutchinson Funeral Home for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
