Background: Donald Trimble Mortuary in Decatur, Ga. (Google Maps). Inset: Lucy Mae Johnson (Artic Obits).
A Georgia woman who organized funeral services for her late grandmother was told by the mortuary that the woman in the casket was not her grandmother.
Marva Lynch used the services of Donald Trimble Mortuary in Decatur after her beloved 95-year-old grandmother, Lucy Mae Johnson, passed away in July 2023. Lynch provided the mortuary with a burial outfit and a wig, but requested that the service have a closed casket. Once services were finished, someone from the mortuary informed Lynch that the body in the casket for her grandmother’s funeral was not actually that of her grandmother’s.
Now, Lynch is suing the funeral home.
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According to the lawsuit, which was obtained by local Fox affiliate WAGA, the mortuary reportedly admitted to Lynch after the funeral that they “dressed the wrong body in the wig and clothes” before placing the body in the casket.
Local ABC affiliate WSB also obtained the lawsuit, which was filed on May 1 in DeKalb County, and it stated that Lynch did briefly look into the casket before the funeral took place, but due to “previous trauma from her mother’s death,” she did not take a close look. Since the casket was closed for services, no one else was able to view who was really inside.
The lawsuit stated that it was a mortuary employee who told Lynch that the body in the casket was a stranger who had mistakenly been dressed in the wig and clothes intended for Johnson. This conversation, according to the lawsuit, took place after the funeral was over.
Lynch paid about $9,000 for the funeral services at Donald Trimble Mortuary, which is now being accused of negligence, mishandling human remains, and breach of contract. The lawsuit is asking for monetary damages to cover the funeral costs as well as emotional distress, plus punitive damages and court costs.
Law&Crime reached out to Lynch’s attorney, Jonathan W. Johnson, as well as Donald Trimble Mortuary but did not receive an immediate response.
