Funeral Home Cremates Wrong Body Ahead Of Open Casket Service

A funeral home in Nova Scotia cremated the wrong person for a service in December, CBC News reported.

Just before the visitation for Sandra Bennett was scheduled to start on Dec. 27, her husband noticed and alerted staff that the wrong person was presented in the casket, Bennett’s family told CBC News Nova Scotia. The staff at the Serenity Funeral Home in Berwick then rolled out another casket, but it also held the wrong body, CBC reported the family said. Staff then told the family that Bennett’s body was accidentally cremated.

The funeral home reported the incident to the Nova Scotia Board of Registration of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, Chairman Adam Tipert told International Business Times.

"They wanted the licensing body to be exactly aware about what happened," Tipert told IBT.

Neither family involved in the incident contacted the board but Tipert said the board would be reaching out to them soon to learn more about what happened.

The board does have the authority to revoke or suspend a license if it's found that there was some sort of professional negligence under the license but at this time it's undecided whether there will be any sort of disciplinary action taken against Serenity Funeral Homes.

"We will do a review of the information we collect and provided to us and make a decision from there," Tipert said. "Until we actually get all the information pertaining to this matter, we really don't know exactly what the situation is right now."

“All reputable cremation providers use rigorous sets of operation procedures and policies to maximize their level of service,” the Serenity Funeral Home’s website says. The obituary for Bennett on the funeral home’s website said she was 65 at the time of her death and that she died in her home on Dec. 20, 2017. She is survived by her husband Gary Bennett and her son Timothy in addition to sisters, brothers, grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

The funeral home and a lawyer involved in the incident did not immediately respond to requests for comment from IBT.