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Funeral Home Sued Over Decomposing Body

Posted on: Friday, 13 August 2004, 06:00 CDT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A mourning family has sued a funeral home, saying it allowed the body of a 71-year-old husband and father to decompose for five days, until the stench of rotting flesh was so strong it sickened the minister at his funeral and dripped fluid from the casket.

The family of Wiley Wilcox sued Lewis-Smith Mortuary on Thursday, claiming the city-contracted indigent funeral home did not properly preserve his body either by refrigeration or embalmment.

Wilcox, of Jacksonville, died in his sleep of natural causes in 2001. After the funeral home held his body for five days, his corpse was too badly decomposed for the open casket burial, according to the suit.

Lewis-Smith Mortuary denied all the allegations, said its attorney, Harris Brown.

The family discovered the rotting corpse when they brought clothes for Wilcox's viewing to the funeral home, said Chris Shakib, the family's attorney.

The body was wrapped in a bag and placed in an unlined casket, according to the lawsuit. Fluid dripped from the casket and stained the rug underneath, and pallbearers said they heard fluid sloshing about as they carried the casket, the lawsuit said.

Bishop John E. Shingles, who presided at the funeral, said the smell made him sick and he left before the graveside services.

The family filed a complaint with state Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which put the funeral home on six months probation and issued about $3,000 in fines. The funeral home owner, Barbara L. Smith, didn't contest the allegations.

The family waited until that investigation was complete before filing the suit, which seeks compensatory damages.

The city terminated its contract with the mortuary after several complaints.

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Information from: The Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com

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