Latest news with #NixAndNix
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Parents Suing Funeral Homes They Claim Gave Them Late Son's Brain in Unmarked Box: 'We Pray This Doesn't Happen to Anyone Else'
The couple's lawyer called the discovery a "horrific tragedy" A couple in Pennsylvania is suing two funeral homes because they claim they were given their dead son's brain in an unlabeled box. On Thursday, July 24, Lawrence and Abbey Butler were joined by their lawyers to announce a lawsuit against the two funeral homes following the 2023 death of their son, Timothy Garlington. The pair is taking action against both Nix & Nix Funeral Homes in Philadelphia and Southern Cremations & Funerals in Georgia over what L. Chris Stewart, the couple's attorney, called a "horrific tragedy," per press conference footage shared by Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU. As the family and their lawyer revealed while speaking with local media, and as reported by the Associated Press, the two funeral homes are accused of giving the parents their late son's remains in an unmarked box. They claim the body part began to smell, leak into their car and even made contact with the father's hands. "It was, and it is still in my heart, that I got in my car and I smelled death," Lawrence told reporters emotionally as his wife stood beside him. "We just pray that this doesn't happen to anyone else again. I had to get rid of that car. I just couldn't stand the idea that the remains [were] in that car." The Butlers' son — a 56-year-old Marine veteran working as a financial aid director — died in Georgia in 2023, according to Stewart, before Southern Cremations shipped his body to Philadelphia's Nix & Nix. The second funeral home was "responsible for providing personal items" to the Butlers, having placed them on a table alongside the "unmarked box," he said. "The items were given to the family, and they were taken home," Stewart continued. "For them only to discover days later that there were remains in that white, unmarked box. How devastating of a mistake that was made by both funeral homes." As the lawyer alleged, the parents discovered they had possession of their son's remains when their car "started to smell," as the box began "leaking in their vehicle." He added that there is "no reason or justification" for Garlington's brain to have been placed "in a separate box." The discovery came days after Garlington's mother unsuccessfully attempted to open the container in front of the funeral home staff, according to Stewart. "To find out that it was his remains was just overwhelming," Lawrence added, speaking to reporters. "Even to this day, that they could do that. You rely on their professionalism to avoid this kind of situation. And that we would have to go through that," he continued. "Tim was the baby boy and was a good young man. This would just double up on the fact that we lost him to this day." Nix & Nix and Southern Cremations did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, July 26. ASV Partners, the company that owns Southern Cremations, declined to comment when contacted by the AP. According to the outlet, the Southern Cremations location is at Cheatham Hill. Speaking to the AP, Julian Nix of Nix & Nix said 'it was definitely not our fault' and claimed the first funeral home sent the parents the unlabeled box. The owner alleged they got in contact with authorities after learning of the remains in the box, and claimed that a state board overseeing funeral homes investigated the matter and found them not responsible. Per the AP, documents proving that have not been made available. Stewart said the family still does not know if their son's brain was buried with him, per the AP, which added that the family is seeking both answers and compensation. Lawrence told reporters that he hopes the funeral homes "learn a lesson" from the ordeal. "You really depend on them to get you through," he said. "And then to find out that they did not take the care to at least know what they were sending to us. ... We just trusted them to do what we thought should be done correctly. This was not done correctly at all." Read the original article on People
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Family sues after funeral home sends son's brain in unmarked leaking box
Two funeral homes allegedly gave grieving parents their deceased son's brain in a box, which began to smell, leaked into their car and got on the father's hands when he moved it, according to an updated lawsuit filed this week. The father, Lawrence Butler, said the discovery was overwhelming at a news conference on Thursday, leaving a horrific memory that mars the other memories of a 'good young man', their son, Timothy Garlington. 'It was, and it is still, in my heart that I got in my car and I smelled death,' he said, emotion breaking his voice. Garlington's mother, Abbey Butler, stood nearby, wiping away tears. After Garlington's death in 2023, the Butlers had his remains shipped from one funeral home in Georgia, where their son died, to another where the family lived, in Pennsylvania, where they picked up his belongings, including a white cardboard box that contained an unlabeled red box. At Nix & Nix Funeral Homes, Abbey Butler tried but could not open the red box, said the Butlers' attorney, L Chris Stewart, at the news conference. Several days later, the red box, which was in the Butlers' car, began to smell and leak fluid, Stewart said. When Lawrence Butler picked it up, the fluid covered his hands, 'which was brain matter. It's insane,' Stewart said. When they called the funeral home in Georgia, Southern Cremations & Funerals at Cheatham Hill, they were told it was Garlington's brain and a mistake had been made, Stewart said. The Butlers returned the box to Nix & Nix, he said. The company that owns Southern Cremations, ASV Partners, declined to comment when contacted by the Associated Press. 'The parents' last memory is holding their son's brain,' said Stewart in an interview with the AP. 'I had to get rid of that car,' Lawrence Butler said, 'I just couldn't stand the idea that the remains were in that car.' The lawsuit says that both funeral homes negligently mishandled human remains and intentionally, wantonly or recklessly inflicted emotional distress. Stewart said he had consulted other funeral homes, and that at no point in the process is the brain 'separated from body in that fashion and shipped in that fashion'. If it ever is, he said, then it is in a sealed bag and labeled as a biohazard. Whether or not Nix & Nix knew a brain was inside the box, Stewart alleged, they should not have handed the box over to the Butlers because it was not on the list of belongings sent from Southern Cremations. Julian Nix, the manager of the eponymous funeral home, told the AP that 'it was definitely not our fault' because Southern Cremations had sent them the unlabeled box. Nix told local news that his team believed the box held personal effects and that other funeral homes usually only send intact remains. Nix said that once they learned what was inside the box, they reported it to authorities. An investigation had been done by the state board overseeing funeral homes that found Nix & Nix wasn't responsible, he said, but the documents proving that were not yet available. The Butlers are seeking compensation and answers to what went wrong. They also hope the lawsuit acts as a warning so that similar incidents will not happen again. 'There's no excuse, there is zero excuse for this type of error to happen. For the Georgia funeral home, Southern Cremations, to ship unmarked, bio-hazardous material. For the funeral home here in Philadelphia to hand the parents an unmarked box, not examined, not on a list of the inventory that was the personal items, to not check it,' said Stewart. 'They have not received a single apology to this day from any funeral home.' Garlington, a veteran of the US marines who was working in school financial aid in Atlanta, according to his LinkedIn, has since been buried in Washington Crossing national cemetery. Stewart, who declined to say how Garlington died at age 56, said the Butlers still do not know whether his brain was buried with the rest of his remains. 'They fear, which is totally understandable: is he resting in peace?' he said.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- The Guardian
Family sues after funeral home sends son's brain in unmarked leaking box
Two funeral homes allegedly gave grieving parents their deceased son's brain in a box, which began to smell, leaked into their car and got on the father's hands when he moved it, according to an updated lawsuit filed this week. The father, Lawrence Butler, said the discovery was overwhelming at a news conference on Thursday, leaving a horrific memory that mars the other memories of a 'good young man', their son, Timothy Garlington. 'It was, and it is still, in my heart that I got in my car and I smelled death,' he said, emotion breaking his voice. Garlington's mother, Abbey Butler, stood nearby, wiping away tears. After Garlington's death in 2023, the Butlers had his remains shipped from one funeral home in Georgia to another in Pennsylvania, where they picked up his belongings, including a white cardboard box that contained an unlabeled red box. At Nix & Nix Funeral Homes, Abbey Butler could not open the red box, said the Butlers' attorney, L Chris Stewart, at the news conference. Several days later, the red box, which was in the Butlers' car, began to smell and leak fluid, Stewart said. When Lawrence Butler picked it up, the fluid covered his hands, 'which was brain matter. It's insane,' Stewart said. When they called the funeral home in Georgia, Southern Cremations & Funerals at Cheatham Hill, they were told it was Garlington's brain and some mistake had been made, Stewart said. The Butlers returned the box to Nix & Nix, he said. The company that owns Southern Cremations, ASV Partners, declined to comment when contacted by the AP. 'The parents last memory is holding their son's brain,' said Stewart in an interview with the Associated Press. 'I had to get rid of that car,' Lawrence Butler said, 'I just couldn't stand the idea that the remains were in that car.' The lawsuit says that both funeral homes negligently mishandled human remains and intentionally, wantonly or recklessly inflicted emotional distress. Stewart said he had consulted other funeral homes, and that at no point in the process is the brain 'separated from body in that fashion and shipped in that fashion'. If it ever is, he said, then it is in a sealed bag and labeled biohazardous. Whether or not Nix & Nix knew a brain was inside the box, Stewart alleges, they should not have handed the box over to the Butlers because it was not on the list of belongings sent from Southern Cremations. Julian Nix, the manager of the titular funeral home, told the AP that 'it was definitely not our fault' because Southern Cremations had sent them the unlabeled box. Nix said they reported it to authorities once they learned what was inside. An investigation had been done by the state board overseeing funeral homes that found they weren't responsible, he said, but the documents proving that were not yet available. The Butlers are seeking compensation and answers to what went wrong. They also hope the lawsuit acts as a warning, so that similar incidents will not happen again. Garlington, a veteran of the US marines who was working in financial aid for schools, has since been buried in Washington Crossing National Cemetery. Stewart, who declined to say how Garlington died at age 56, said the Butlers still do not know whether Garlington's brain was buried with the rest of him. 'They fear, which is totally understandable: is he resting in peace?' he said.
