A California family is taking legal action against a renowned cemetery after discovering that their loved one’s headstone had been positioned on the incorrect grave. The mix-up was revealed only after the death of another relative.

The Demirchyan family laid their family patriarch to rest beside his predeceased wife in April at the Hollywood Hills branch of the prominent Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles. Shortly after the funeral, the deceased’s son was approached by a mortician, who revealed that his mother—who had passed away in August 2021—was not interred in the plot marked by her headstone. As per a lawsuit acquired by local Nextar station KTLA, it became evident that she had been buried in the adjacent plot.

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Chris Demirchyan, whose age was not provided, spoke to several local news outlets about his family’s lawsuit against Forest Lawn Mortuary, and had a similar story for each of them. He told KTLA, “I feel betrayed because we have been speaking to an empty plot.”

According to the lawsuit, his mother, Hasmik Demirchyan, was buried in “space 2,” but her grave marker was placed on “space 1.”

Chris Demirchyan told KTLA, “All those times we put down flowers, we prayed, we came for holidays, we even put up a decorated Christmas tree — it was the wrong space.” He similarly told local NBC affiliate KNBC, “For a year, I was there every weekend, taking her flowers, and sitting and talking to her.”