'Little toe sticking under a grown human male': Funeral home mishandled the remains of a stillborn baby found underneath stack of bodies, lawsuit says

Freeman Funeral Home in Pompano Beach, Florida (Google Maps).

A couple in Florida has secured a default summary judgment against a funeral home accused of mishandling their stillborn son’s remains. The lawsuit claims the funeral home improperly embalmed the infant and stacked other bodies on top of him.

Alicia Richard and Namarcus Crane, the parents of Na-mir Crane, who passed away at birth on April 9, 2025, initiated a negligence lawsuit in July against Freeman Funeral Home and Cremation based in Pompano Beach.

Following Na-mir’s death, the grieving parents paid $500 to the funeral home for embalming and other arrangements. However, over the subsequent two weeks, the funeral home allegedly failed to provide adequate care, leading to the deterioration of the boy’s “fragile body.”

The family arranged for another funeral home to retrieve Na-mir’s body. According to the lawsuit, the representative from the new funeral home was met with “inhumane and horrifying” conditions.

In an interview with NBC Miami affiliate WTVJ, Crane and Richard expressed their distress, stating that their son appeared “unrecognizable.”

“The only reason he found our son was because a small toe was visible beneath a grown human male,” Crane recounted to the news outlet.

Plaintiff lawyer Jesse O’Hara wrote that the boy’s remains were “crushed beneath the body of a deceased adult male, reportedly over six feet tall and weighing in excess of 200 pounds.”

“Multiple bodies were haphazardly stacked in blatant disregard for industry standards and basic human dignity,” he said.

Na-mir was unsuitable for an open casket, the lawsuit alleges.

“Defendant’s actions and omissions deprived Plaintiffs of the sacred opportunity to grieve and honor their son through the rites of their faith, causing profound and lasting emotional trauma,” O’Hara wrote.

Broward County Circuit Judge Michael Robinson in January entered a default summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs after the defendants failed to appear for a court hearing. An evidentiary hearing to determine damages is slated for April 28.

“I’ve handled a lot of cases, and this one sticks out to me,” O’Hara told WTVJ.

The experience has been devastating for Crane and Richard.

“We don’t have anything to remember him by; it hurt us even more every day waking up,” Crane told the TV station. “It hurts, can’t get it back, very painful.”

Richard concluded: “It crushed my soul.”

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