A family mourning the loss of a loved one in North Carolina was left in shock after they discovered a total stranger in the casket meant for their deceased relative. The White family, which was grieving Catherine B. White are demanding answers following the purported mix-up at the Charlotte funeral home.
White, 75, passed away on June 26 after a fierce battle with terminal cancer. She was in the care of her son, an ER physician, for the last four months of her life.
“She died in my home. I knew what she looked like the minute she left my home at 1:11 a.m on June 26th this year,” her son Jerry Bowman said.
Bowman said they went to Alexander Funeral Home in Charlotte for a memorial for his mother, but found another woman dressed in her clothes and jewelry, Fox 46 reported.
“So, a strange woman that is not our mother is wearing clothes that my niece bought for our mother to be buried in,” Bowman said angrily.
“She doesn’t deserve this. Nobody deserves anything like this,” Bowman said. “It’s surreal. This feels like a nightmare.”
“How do you embalm and bury the wrong body?” He quizzed.
The funeral home is yet to make a statement.
Dailymail reported the relative of the other woman, Elease Mclnnis, held a burial service on July 2 and mistakenly laid White to rest.
Mclnnis’ relative disclosed to Fox 46 they are embarrassed and heartbroken over the situation. They told the station that some loved ones made note that Mclnnis looked different during her funeral, but they assumed it was due to the embalming process.
Bowman said White’s body will have to be exhumed from York memorial park with permission from Mclnnis’ family.
“They have to exhume her body, but it has to be with the permission of the other family… I don’t know why they didn’t notice, but God bless her soul, somebody in the Charlotte area buried the wrong family member.”
