A family faced a distressing situation when they discovered a stranger’s body in their loved one’s casket, leading one relative to suffer a heart attack. At a funeral home gathering to bid farewell to Joey Espinosa, his aunt, Laura Levario, noticed a different casket than the one they had selected and realized the body inside was not Joey’s. The shock of the situation caused Laura’s husband to have a heart attack, eventually waking up after being on life support for three days.
Following the incident, the family was taken to another room at the Forest Lawn Covina Hills funeral home in California, where they encountered another incorrect casket. It took over an hour for the staff to guide them to the correct room, leaving the family distressed and describing the experience as their worst ever.
Forest Lawn attributed the mix-up to a “scheduling error” and offered the family $200 as an apology, which fell short of covering the nearly $20,000 funeral expenses. Consequently, the Espinosa family is taking legal action against the mortuary for emotional distress and negligence.
Their lawyer emphasized the family’s ordeal of searching for their loved one’s body instead of mourning, highlighting the expectation of proper procedures from a reputable establishment like Forest Lawn. This incident follows a similar case where two sisters discovered a stranger wearing their mother’s clothes in a coffin before her funeral.
The grieving sisters were initially told no mistake had occurred, but upon investigation, their mother’s body was found in the embalming room. The lack of resemblance between the stranger in the casket and their mother raised concerns, leading to the discovery of the mix-up.
After the bodies were correctly identified and switched, the funeral services proceeded as planned, resolving the distressing situation for both families.
