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US sisters file $60 million lawsuit against funeral homes for burying stranger instead of their late father
One of the women, Stacy suspected something was amiss when she noticed her father's mustache was seemingly missing.
Two sisters in the US have sued a pair of funeral homes for $60 million after they buried a stranger instead of their late father. Stacy Holzman and Megan Zaner have alleged Fletcher Funeral and Cremation Service and Star of David messed up their late father's last rites, ending up burying a stranger's body.
According to the lawsuit filed in New York, Fletcher Funeral and Cremation Service mistook a stranger's remains for their late father Clifford Zaner and placed the wrong body in Clifford’s burial clothes. The women allege Fletcher Funeral then sent the remains to the Star of David Memorial Chapels in West Babylon, N.Y. The gaffe meant that the women's father was left "abandoned" inside its morgue and was not buried in accordance to Jewish traditions.
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"I just feel so wronged," Megan said, per FOX affiliate WNYW. "You trust these people. You don't know what you're doing, this doesn't happen every day. We lose our dad once in our life."
According to the sisters, when they tried to call out the issue, Star of David insisted that the body belonged to their late father.
Meanwhile, Star of David told people.com that the family “confirmed the identification of the deceased at the cemetery” before the burial.
One of the women, Stacy suspected something was amiss when she noticed her father's mustache was seemingly missing, according to CBS affiliate WCBS. When she questioned “Where is his facial hair?”, the funeral director told her that shaving “everybody” was standard practice. Stacy's concerns were further aggravated when she noticed autopsy scar on the man's head. (An autopsy was not conducted on her father, according to the lawsuit.)
“I'm like, 'No, this isn't right, I don't recognize him,'" recalled Stacy. But again, her concerns were dismissed by the funeral home.
Three weeks after the burial took place, Fletcher Funeral informed Clifford's family that there had been a mix-up. A second funeral with the correct remains of the women's late father was done in Jacksonville, Fla., on March 24.
