For the past year, a family in New Jersey, Camden, has been engaging in a battle with a funeral home. In 2023, Addison Jenkins had died. Ahead of time, he planned Boyd Funeral Home to deal with his corpse.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Jenkins had died on February 11. He was given to Boyd Funeral Home to be processed for a viewing, on the 18th. He was then going to get cremated.
However, when they approached the casket on February 17 to see the body one last time to say their goodbyes before the viewing the next day. What they saw instead of their loved one, was a dead stranger in Jenkins' clothes.
They became "immediately distressed and angered when they saw another unrecognizable corpse dressed in Addison's clothes and belongings," says the complaint obtained by PEOPLE.
The employees disagreed with the family, urging and stressing that the man before them was in fact Jenkins. The callous response upset the family further.
According to the complaint, the family is demanding a trial by jury as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
Funeral Home Gives Family Wrong Body
When the family of Addison Jenkins realised the wrong body was in front of them, they immediately questioned the staff.
The funeral director wasn't present at the time. An employee at the scene instead showed the family texts from the director confirming that the man in the casket was indeed Jenkins. A makeup artist further stressed that it was Jenkins' body.
The complaint reads that the family and employees "continued to disagree with each other as to whose body was in the casket."
To convince the funeral home, the family highlighted that Jenkins had a cauliflower ear and foot infection. The body before them did not have these features.
On February 18, the day of the viewing, the family asked the funeral director to open the casket to confirm the body. Thankfully, the home got it right this time and it was indeed Jenkins in the casket.
The complaint reads that "Plaintiffs have become [emotionally] distraught. The Plaintiffs have been denied their right to grieve the death of their late loved one and, further, have been found to endure severe and ongoing emotional distress."
Due to negligence by Boyd Funeral Home, the family had suffered distress in their time of grieving.
