Background: Donald Trimble Mortuary in Decatur, Ga. (Google Maps). Inset: Lucy Mae Johnson (Artic Obits).
A Georgia woman arranging funeral services for her deceased grandmother received surprising news from the mortuary that the individual in the casket was not her grandmother.
Marva Lynch contacted Donald Trimble Mortuary in Decatur to handle arrangements after her cherished 95-year-old grandmother, Lucy Mae Johnson, passed away in July 2023. She gave the mortuary a burial outfit and a wig with instructions for a closed casket service. After the funeral services concluded, a representative from the mortuary informed Lynch that the person in the casket for her grandmother’s funeral wasn’t actually her grandmother.
Now, Lynch is suing the funeral home.
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The lawsuit, as reported by local Fox affiliate WAGA, states that the mortuary confessed to Lynch following the funeral that they had mistakenly “dressed the wrong body in the wig and clothes” before placing it in the casket.
Local ABC affiliate WSB also obtained the lawsuit, which was filed on May 1 in DeKalb County, and it stated that Lynch did briefly look into the casket before the funeral took place, but due to “previous trauma from her mother’s death,” she did not take a close look. Since the casket was closed for services, no one else was able to view who was really inside.
The lawsuit stated that it was a mortuary employee who told Lynch that the body in the casket was a stranger who had mistakenly been dressed in the wig and clothes intended for Johnson. This conversation, according to the lawsuit, took place after the funeral was over.
Lynch paid about $9,000 for the funeral services at Donald Trimble Mortuary, which is now being accused of negligence, mishandling human remains, and breach of contract. The lawsuit is asking for monetary damages to cover the funeral costs as well as emotional distress, plus punitive damages and court costs.
Law&Crime reached out to Lynch’s attorney, Jonathan W. Johnson, as well as Donald Trimble Mortuary but did not receive an immediate response.
