The family of an 85-year-old New Jersey woman who died last year sued a funeral home handling the arrangements, alleging the wrong body was buried in the casket.
Josephinne Struble died Dec. 28, 2021, at a rehabilitation and nursing center in Dover.
The next day, her son and daughter contacted the F. John Ramsey Funeral Home in Franklin for arrangements and provided workers with their mother's clothes and jewelry, according to NJ.com, which obtained the suit, filed Sept. 13 in Sussex County Superior Court.
Struble's grandson was the first to approach the open casket on the day of her funeral on Jan. 4 and was "appalled" to see another person, according to the lawsuit.
"To twist the knife, [the woman's daughter] noticed her mother's jewelry on the unidentified corpse," the suit alleges, adding that the daughter immediately sought out the funeral director to find out where her mother's body was.
The suit said other family members saw the body in the coffin and were upset.
"[A manager] finally instructed [the] decedent's family to exit the room," the lawsuit added.
After over an hour and a half, a manager directed the family back into the viewing room, only to find the 85-year-old's body in the casket but "disheveled and bruised."
The funeral home did not immediately respond Tuesday to the outlet's requests for comment on the suit's allegations.
Struble's children claim in their negligence complaint the mishandling of human remains, emotional distress and breach of contract.
"The plaintiffs have been denied their right to grieve the death of their late loved one and, further, have been forced to endure severe and ongoing emotional distress," the suit adds.
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