Woman's Body Found Decomposed In Funeral Home Years After Family Paid For Cremation

A family in South Carolina has filed a lawsuit against a funeral home, claiming the body of a relative was left decomposing in the facility for several years.

According to reports, Mary Alice Pitts Moore’s body was found at First Family Funeral Home in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in February, almost three years after her family paid for her cremation. She died in March 2015 at age 63.

The lawsuit, filed against the funeral home by Moore’s husband Fred Parker Jr. and her son Taras Parker, claims that the body was stored in a non-refrigerated room before it was relocated to another funeral home where it was discovered.

"I just thought she would be in a better place somewhere," her son Taras Parker told the Post and Courier.

Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said that the 63-year-old’s woman’s embalmed remains were discovered on a board with a sheet over it surrounded by fragrances to overpower the smell.

"For nearly the next three years, the Decedent’s body was left in the storage room to rot. On February 8, 2018, the Decedent’s body was found so badly decomposed, that it took nearly two weeks to identify it as the Decedent," the lawsuit reads.

The family also alleges negligence in the handling of Moore’s remains stating that the funeral home knew that it was violating state law by improperly disposing of the body and that it was "conspiring to run an illegal funeral home."

WSPA reports that another employee who found Moore’s body informed the coroner it was not placed in the refrigerator. The worker was told not to “worry about it" when she raised concerns with other employees.

First Family Funeral Home’s license is suspended and a criminal investigation is underway. Meanwhile, the funeral home has asked for the case's dismissal.