Note: Some of the details in this story are disturbing.
A family in Chesapeake, Virginia, has taken legal action against a local funeral home, accusing them of mishandling the presentation of their deceased relative during a viewing.
In May 2022, Torreon Williams lost his life in a horrific car accident. A week following this tragic event, his family attended an open casket viewing at Snellings Funeral Home in Chesapeake. The experience was reportedly so distressing that the family decided to engage a lawyer.
Attorney Kevin Sharp described the situation as a “grotesque freak show,” mentioning that there were maggots coming from the young man’s nose, mouth, and face.
Torreon Williams’ mother, Tabitha Worrell, filed a lawsuit.
“I just remember my sister screaming,” Torreon’s aunt, Tiffany Barnhart, told Nexstar’s WAVY. “I remember the lady [a funeral home worker] placing her hand on her, telling her not to make a scene.”
“And she was mortified by the way they [funeral home] reacted,” said Sharp. “They almost seemed to say, ‘You don’t overreact here.’ You’re the one to blame, not what they had done to her son.”
The lawsuit says Tabitha Worrell now experiences “nightmares, trauma, sleeplessness, flashbacks, anxiety, depression, nausea, humiliation, embarrassment, grief and horror.”
Snellings is owned by Norfolk-based Hollomon-Brown Funeral Homes. In a statement to WAVY, CEO Casey Jones said, “The unexpected passing of Torreon Williams is tragic, and we extend our sincere condolences to his family. However, because the events following his death are the subject of ongoing litigation, we do not believe it is appropriate to comment publicly at this time.”
The lawsuit alleges that Snellings did not properly clean and disinfect Williams’ body before the embalming process. The case is set to be heard in Chesapeake Circuit Court’s civil division on July 28. The court is expecting to have a three-day jury trial.
