Sheila McGilvrey has filed a $2.2 million lawsuit against a Tennessee funeral home after discovering her late husband’s belongings returned to her splattered with brain matter.
McGilvrey, of Blountville, Tennessee, told WJHL that she received the clothing of Richard Pretzeus, her husband, inside a brown sack stamped with the word “clothing” in September of last year. The delivery came roughly a week after Pretzeus tragically took his own life right outside the couple’s home, though the lawsuit alleges she received the items four days after the suicide.
“It was a brown sack, and it just was stapled, had the word ‘clothing’ stamped on it,” McGilvrey told WJHL. “I open that brown sack and on the inside was a white plastic trash bag.”
She described the bag as one of the cinch-tie variety, requiring her to put her fingers through the opening to pull it back open. When she did so, her fingers raked across something unexpected.
“When I did that, my fingers kind of raked across something,” she continued. “The cinch-tie ones, you know, you have to kind of put your fingers in that little hole to pull it back open.”
When McGilvrey glanced down, she saw what appeared to be chunks of brain matter resting on top of the pile of clothing. The clothing was also covered in a “sticky bodily fluid,” according to her account.
The widow promptly passed out at the discovery. Her son helped her out of the room and disposed of the bag in an outdoor fire pit.
“It took a long time for me to process what happened because it’s just mind-blowing,” McGilvrey said. “It’s so unbelievable, you can imagine. So, after that, I reached out to several different agencies.”
McGilvrey and her son are suing Weaver Funeral Home, claiming the incident caused them “severe emotional distress and suffering.” The funeral home declined a request for comment from The Post.
When McGilvrey contacted the National Association of Medical Examiners (N.A.M.E.), the organization pointed her toward the medical examiner as the source of the disastrous mishap.
“N.A.M.E. Told me that it must have been an oversight… On their medical examiner’s part,” McGilvrey said. “So that’s basically the gist of the email that they sent back.”
An autopsy had been performed by contractor William L. Jenkins Forensic Center, a component of East Tennessee State University. The forensic center only offers forensic autopsy services in Sullivan County, not medical examiner services. It remains unclear who the specific medical examiner was.
Sullivan County District Attorney Barry Staubus told WJHL that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation looked into the accident, but did not find any criminal wrongdoing. Authorities had brushed McGilvrey’s shocking discovery as a mere accident that didn’t require consequences.
N.A.M.E., the Sullivan County Medical Examiner’s Office and William L. Jenkins Forensic Center did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. McGilvrey also declined The Post’s request for comment.