A Family’s Goodbye Becomes A Nightmare After Wrong Body Found In Casket, Leaving Uncle On Life Support From Shock

Joseph Espinoza was 44 when he died suddenly of heart failure. When the 44-year olds family traveled to Forest Lawn–Covina Hills in West Covina, California to mourn, the last thing they were expecting was to become the victims of a bizarre, disturbing funeral home error that would turn their day of mourning into a nightmare.

It was only when they filed into the funeral home’s viewing room that the Espinoza family realized something was terribly wrong. In the casket was not Joseph, but a stranger. Even the coffin itself was not the one they had selected. Espinoza’s aunt, Laura Levario, told KCAL she was “shocked and very confused.” When she informed staff of the mix-up, they were “alarmed and shocked as well,” she said.

Funeral home staff allegedly told the family there had been a scheduling error with two viewings on the same day, according to the lawsuit. Employees then led the Espinoza’s to another viewing room, assuring them that the situation would be rectified. Upon their arrival, they found yet another stranger lying inside. The chaos that ensued was only the beginning. Joseph’s family’s grief soon gave way to mounting disbelief and anger, with funeral home staff frantically scrambling to find Joseph’s body. The search, according to court documents, would last more than an hour.

In the confusion, Joseph’s uncle, George Levario, collapsed inside the chapel. He later learned he’d had a heart attack, the result, the family suspects, of the overwhelming stress of the situation. “I woke up three days later in the hospital on life support,” he said in an interview. “It’s the worst experience we’ve ever had.”

It was only a matter of days before the Espinozas went to court, filing a lawsuit against Forest Lawn in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The suit alleged negligence, breach of contract, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit lays out the emotionally grueling experience of that day, as the family continued to suffer “great mental anguish, suffering, humiliation, and grief,” as a result of the funeral home error. Forest Lawn has so far declined to comment on the pending litigation, but previous reports noted that the funeral home initially offered the family $200 to cover a $20,000 service, a sum the family called insulting.

Forest Lawn has declined to comment publicly on the matter, citing pending litigation, but the incident has nevertheless sparked outrage among social media and the local community.