A HORRIFIED family allegedly found a stranger’s corpse inside a loved one’s casket – causing one relative to have a heart attack.
Forest Lawn Covina Hills funeral home are accused of losing 44-year-old Joey Espinosa’s body before his chapel service in California
Espinosa’s aunt Laura Levario said she realised something was wrong when she arrived for her nephew’s funeral and saw a casket which she didn’t remember picking.
She said she then spotted that the person inside her relative’s casket was not Joey’s.
Laura told KSLA: “I noticed the body wasn’t my nephew’s and the coffin we picked out wasn’t [there].”
Joey’s heartbroken loved ones have demanded his remains be located for the real service.
Laura said: “He had a heart of gold. He was like a son to me.”
Following the harrowing experience, Laura said her family were taken to another room with another incorrect casket inside.
She claimed it took staff over a hour to direct them to the correct room where they could finally begin mourning.
Laura added: “They didn’t know where my nephew’s body was.”
And she claimed her own husband George suffered a heart attack due to the acute stress caused by the chaos.
She said he woke up three days later after going on life support.
Laura called it the “worst experience we’ve ever had”.
Forest Lawn called the mistake “scheduling error”.
They then offered the grief-stricken family $200 as an apology.
But that barely covered the costs of the funeral which reached nearly $20,000.
The Espinosa family is now suing the mortuary for emotional distress and negligence.
Their attorney told CBS News: “Instead of mourning their loved one, they are searching for a body.
“When you’re spending that much money on a place like Forest Lawn, you would think they would do things properly.”
Forest Lawn, which has several sites throughout Southern California, offer service packages from under $10,000 to $18,775 at their Covina Hill property.
