On March 1, Darlene Davidson was buried — or at least that’s what’s her family thought. While friends and relatives joined together for the 82-year-old grandmother’s funeral, Darlene’s body was not the one in the casket. The Davidsons buried the wrong woman while their loved one remained above ground.
When Davidson’s husband Evans Davidson went to identity the body at the Los Angeles area mortuary, he noticed his wife looked different. But his doubts were dispelled after the mortician convinced the grieving widower that the corpse in the casket just “looked different due to funeral parlor make-up.”
Days later when another family went to the same mortuary to claim their loved one, they realized she was not the one in the casket. In fact, their relative was 6 feet under Darlene Davidson’s headstone. The mortuary has since offered to exhume the body.
“I was already torn apart and then this. It’s unbelievable,” said Davidson’s son, Eric Haynes, in tears.
Unlike the misidentified corpse, this mistake could not be buried. Now the mortuary could face sanctions and may have their license revoked.
Reginald Black, a spokesman for the mortuary, apologized for the mistake.
Another funeral will be held for Darlene Davidson on Wednesday. The family has since gone to the mortuary with their attorney to make sure another switcharoo doesn’t happen again.