A French sailor accidentally scattered the ashes of a complete stranger following a hospital error, reports French media Provence.
Last August, Stéphane Avedissian called the authorities because he was worried about not having news of his 85-year-old mother. The body of the octogenarian was discovered in his apartment in Marseille.
After an autopsy, experts concluded that it was a natural death and therefore gave the family a death certificate and a permit to bury the remains.
Since the deceased’s last wishes were to be cremated, Mr. Avedissian and his relatives took all the steps for the funeral and cremation.
The Forensic Institute, however, informs the relatives of the deceased that they will not be able to see the body during the funeral because it “is absolutely not visible”. Intrigued by this information, the lady’s children and grandchildren, however, proceed with the funeral and cremation.
On August 17, Stéphane Avedissian obtained the ashes and went to sea with his family to scatter them in the Mediterranean, as his mother wished.
Five months later, the police contacted him and informed him that the body that was returned following the autopsy was not that of his mother, but rather that of another woman, who lost her life during the same period.
He later learns that his mother’s remains are still in the morgue.
A judge then assured him that the costs of the “second funeral” would be covered by the forensic institute, which also apologized to the two families affected by this error.
An investigation has also been launched to determine how such a substitution could have occurred and what the institute’s responsibilities are.
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