Welcome to the two-hundred-and-fifty-seventh edition of Morticians’ Monday Morning Mashup, 4M #257, where we’ll serve up bite-sized, easily-digestible nuggets of the deathcare news you need to crush conversations in the week ahead. Bon appetit!
No excuses
A funeral home in Delaware has been ordered to pay $150,000 each to two families who filed suit in 2024 after their two loved ones were involved in an alleged “body swap.” The families alleged in the suit that the funeral home accidentally cremated one man’s body, and “tried to cover the mistake up” by presenting the family with the other man’s body. Most of the articles detailing the judgment are paywalled, but coverage of the case from early 2025 indicates that the family that had requested cremation questioned the funeral home about an expected delay in receiving their loved one’s remains, and the funeral home blamed a “paperwork issue.” A family member then visited the funeral home to inspect the body and realized that the casket contained another person’s body, but, apparently, the funeral home insisted that she was wrong. They allegedly even shaved off the one man’s beard to make him look more like the other man. A DNA test finally settled the dispute.
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Niche thieves nabbed
Some good news for families and mausoleum managers … a trio of “tomb raiders” who have stolen valuables from niches in at least 10 states were arrested last week and face several charges in Florida. A man, his girlfriend, and the girlfriend’s mom broke into an as-yet-unknown number of niches across the eastern half of the country, with at least 20 of the cases of burglaries totaling at least $35,000 in jewelry and other items in Florida alone. Because this group has been so prolific in their particular pursuits, authorities are encouraging anyone who has placed valuables in a loved one’s niche to visit the mausoleum and report any stolen items to local authorities.
Dignity delayed
California’s Assembly Bill 2598, which was inspired by a news outlet’s Emmy-winning investigation into hospitals’ pandemic-era delays in death notifications of more than 100 deceased individuals, is now awaiting the governor’s signature. The “Dignity Delayed” bill could fine hospitals $200 per day, up to $50,000, for delays in notifying families of a death. If next of kin cannot be identified, hospitals must notify the county public administrator within two business days — or they could be made responsible for the cost of disposition, as well.
