Bianca Robinson has spoken out after discovering a stranger in her mother’s casket at a Detroit funeral home.
Robinson, 61-year-old Kimberly Moore’s daughter, had gathered with relatives at Hutchinson Funeral Home in Detroit to pay final respects. Instead, she looked down and realized the body did not belong to her mother. She knew something was wrong after checking the stranger’s feet.
“I didn’t see that mole that my mom has on her feet,” she told KWTX News 10.
She flagged down a funeral home worker to address the issue. “I looked at that man and I said, ‘Sir, this is not my mama’, and he said it just like this, he said, ‘I’m sorry. They must have cremated your mom a week or two ago. I’m so sorry’.”
Moore had actually pre-planned all of her own funeral arrangements to spare her family unnecessary stress. “I can’t understand this because in the end she left everything set up for us so we didn’t have to worry about her funeral money and all that,” one relative shared. “She left everything beautiful and I can’t believe that this happened to her.”
The family claims they still have not received ashes that the funeral home insists belong to Moore. “I’m just trying to figure out where my mom is,” Bianca added.
Despite having no physical remains to mourn, the family moved forward with a scheduled celebration of life service for Moore on Saturday September 19.
“We need answers. This is crazy. We don’t deserve this. She don’t deserve this,” Robinson continued.
Hutchinson Funeral Home issued a statement addressing the mix-up. “We are heartbroken and deeply sorry for what Ms. Moore’s family has experienced. We have launched our own internal review to determine exactly what happened, and we will deal with it accordingly,” the statement read.
In a tragic turn, Joseph Hutchinson Jr., the vice president of the funeral home, died just days after the family reported the mix-up. While his death has not been connected to the cremation incident, the Detroit facility is now facing intense scrutiny over its operating protocols. The Hutchinson family has asked for privacy as they grieve his sudden passing.
Dr. Mark Evely, who teaches Mortuary Science at Wayne State University, explained that funeral homes must verify a deceased person’s identity throughout the process. “We also have to check ID, verify ID and document that ID before final disposition takes place, either burial or cremation,” Evely said.
The family continues to demand answers about what happened to Moore’s remains.