We’ve all heard of switched at birth — but switched at death??
A new lawsuit just hit the courts of New Jersey, and you’re not going to believe what this family is claiming! Last month, according to People, the loved ones of the late Addison Jenkins filed a complaint with New Jersey Superior Court accusing Boyd Funeral Home in Camden of negligence in the handling of human remains and infliction of emotional distress.
You see, back on February 11, 2023 the Jenkins family lost their loved one and made arrangements to have a memorial service through Boyd Funeral Services. What they agreed upon was a viewing at the local Faith Tabernacle followed by a cremation on February 18. On February 15, just days before the service was set to take place, Addison’s widow brought some of her late husband’s things and some clothes so the funeral home could prepare the body. What took place next, though, was something NO ONE ever expected…
According to the complaint, ahead of the viewing on February 18, the family stopped by for some private mourning on February 17. It’s then they allegedly looked down into the casket to not see Addison at all — but some OTHER dead body wearing his clothes and his stuff! OMG!
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The legal docs read:
“At or around 4:00 p.m. on February 17th, Plaintiffs approached the casket supposedly holding Addison and became immediately distressed and angered when they saw another unrecognizable corpse dressed in Addison’s clothes and belongings. The Plaintiffs were shocked, upset, confused and full of tears.”
Horrible! We can’t imagine how much of a shock that was to their systems…
This is where everything gets WILDER, though. The funeral director wasn’t present to deal with the family’s concerns, so an employee of the funeral home had to text them. In the texts, the director assured the family it WAS their loved one, and a makeup artist later did the same, but the fam wasn’t convinced. They all “continued to disagree with each other as to whose body was in the casket”.
Adding on to that, the family believed they had PROOF this wasn’t Addison. They said he had a cauliflower ear and some markings on his feet that they’d know anywhere — and THIS body, whosever it was, didn’t have those distinctions. So if this wasn’t Addison, who on earth was it?
Well, all speculation died down the next day. On the February 18 viewing, the family was able to see the markings on Addison’s feet and confirm it was him. But what happened? Did the funeral home swap the bodies overnight? Was this family really in too much emotional distress to recognize him the first go-around? With such unique distinctions it seems like the family would recognize their loved one. Regardless, how extremely traumatic…
The complaint went on to say:
“As a result of the above, plaintiffs have become emotional distraught. The Plaintiffs have been denied their right to grieve the death of their late loved one and, further, have been found to endure severe and ongoing emotional distress.”
The Jenkins family said that as a result of the funeral home’s “negligent acts and omissions”, they’ve “suffered and continue to suffer severe emotional distress and damages”. They also accused the business of “failing to use the accepted degree of professional skill as others in the same profession(s) and communities, constituting negligence and causing the infliction of severe emotional distress on the Plaintiffs”. They’re seeking a trial by jury as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
In a statement to the outlet on Tuesday, the family’s lawyer Michael Shaw accused Boyd Funeral Home of “gaslighting a grieving family”:
“What happened to the Jenkins family and their late loved one, Addison Jenkins, is disturbing and reprehensible. To twist the knife, once the Jenkins family informed the funeral home of the wrongful conduct, the callous response was to point blame at my clients by persistently telling them that the wrong and unidentified body was their late loved one. Gaslighting a grieving family after displaying the wrong corpse is cruel and ignoble.”
Yeesh. What an awful situation. Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Di Bonaventura Pictures/YouTube]
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