Funeral Home Allegedly Cremated Wrong Woman Before Family Could Say Goodbye

Detroit, Michigan — A grieving family in Detroit says it was preparing to say a final goodbye to a beloved mother when an alleged funeral home mix-up turned the service into a horrifying discovery: the woman prepared for public viewing was reportedly not their loved one, and the family was later told their mother’s body may have already been cremated.

Kimberly Kaye Moore, a mother of five and grandmother of 28, died on September 3. Her children were preparing for her scheduled viewing at Hutchison Funeral Home on Friday, September 18, when they say they realized something was seriously wrong.

Instead of finding their mother, family members allegedly discovered another woman’s body dressed in Kimberly’s clothes, with her hair and makeup prepared for the viewing.

Daughter Immediately Knew Something Was Wrong

Kimberly’s daughter, Bianca Robinson, said she immediately questioned what she was seeing.

“This is not my momma,” Robinson recalled telling a mortuary staff member. Her brother, Byron Moore, also described the shocking discovery while speaking with a local news outlet.

“It’s a lady in there with our mother’s dress on, and her hair on, and her makeup and it’s not our mother,” Byron Moore said.

According to the family, a funeral home employee eventually apologized and allegedly told them something even more disturbing: Kimberly may have already been cremated.

Robinson recalled the employee saying:

“I’m sorry,”

She said he then explained:

“Your mom must have been cremated when she first got here because it was two ladies that was here that came in when your mom came.”

Family Says Body Bag Revealed the Mistake

Robinson had reportedly gone to the funeral home to help prepare her mother’s body, including putting on her nails and lashes.

Instead, she said the mortuary employee asked her whether the woman was actually her mother.

The question immediately raised suspicions.

“When I came to put my mom nails and my lashes on, he was asking me like, ‘Is this your Mom?’ And I’m looking like, ‘you should know,'” Robinson recalled.

The employee then unzipped the body bag.

Robinson said she knew almost immediately that the woman inside was not Kimberly because of a distinctive mark on her mother’s toe.

“He unzipped the bag, and when he unzipped the bag, I looked at the toe, and I was like it’s not a mole on her toe,” Robinson told, explaining that her mom had a mole on her toe. “I said, ‘How do you make a mistake like that?'”

The family was then reportedly told that a possible identification error could have caused the mix-up.

Family Questions How the Bodies Were Misidentified

Another family member, Christopher Moore, told that the funeral home suggested a possible explanation involving the identification tag attached to the body.

“They said the toe tag … they think the toe tag got wet and fell off and that’s how her body got mixed up with somebody else’s body,” he alleged.

The explanation left the family facing an even more painful situation.

Kimberly had been scheduled to be cremated Saturday, after relatives were supposed to have the opportunity to view her body Friday. But after discovering the wrong woman, the family says they were left without the viewing they had planned and without certainty about what happened to Kimberly’s remains.

Robinson expressed her frustration by asking:

“We don’t have a viewing. What do we have?”

She added:

“We don’t even have her ashes! Somebody please tell us something.”

Police Called as Family Protests Outside Funeral Home

Detroit police were called to the funeral home Friday as members of Kimberly’s family gathered outside to protest and demand answers. According to Sources, officers remained at the scene to keep the peace as tensions escalated, but no arrests were reported.

The incident has now prompted an investigation into what happened to Kimberly’s remains and how another woman’s body allegedly came to be prepared for her family’s viewing.

Joseph Hutchison Jr., the funeral home’s vice president of operations, confirmed to that the matter was being investigated.

In-N-Out Shooting in Arizona Leaves One Hospitalized After Gun Goes Off During Fight

“We’re investigating it,” Hutchison said.

Funeral Home Says Family Could Be Made Whole

Funeral home spokesperson Mario Morrow also addressed the situation. Morrow said that if an investigation determines the funeral home was responsible, the business would make the family whole.

For Kimberly’s children and grandchildren, however, the situation involves more than a potential financial resolution.

The family had expected to spend a final moment with their mother and grandmother. Instead, they say they were confronted with the possibility that her remains had been mistakenly cremated before they could say goodbye.

As the investigation continues, the family is still seeking answers about how the alleged identification mix-up happened, where Kimberly’s remains are and what led to another woman being prepared for her viewing.

What would you do if your family experienced a situation like this during a loved one’s funeral? Share your thoughts in the comments.