A family in Ohio was horrified after they found the wrong woman in their loved one's coffin
- A family in Ohio was shocked to find a stranger in their loved one's coffin.
- When Sonya White's family opened her casket, they found a different woman wearing her clothes and jewelry.
When a family in Columbus, Ohio, opened their loved one's casket for a final goodbye, they found the body of a stranger in her coffin.
The family of Sonya White told local ABC affiliate ABC 6 they found an unknown woman in the coffin when they arrived to view White's body on Monday afternoon.
White died on January 6 at the age of 51, and her body was handled by the Marlan Gary Funeral Home, per her obituary.
"When we walked in there it was a different body in her casket. With her clothes on. Her undergarments. Her Buckeye earrings. And her wig. We were very devastated. We was all crying," said Lisa Harden, White's cousin. "We wanted closure. But that is not something we will ever get. I never in my life seen something like this before."
"It was traumatic. No one should have to go through that with their loved one," Harden added.
White's sister, Kishia Givens, said specific requests had been made to the funeral home, including a red casket because she was a big fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
"Everything we picked for my sister we picked with love. Exactly what we thought she would have liked," Givens said. "You expect your loved one when they pass to be handled with care. And to be that careless with someone's family member is inexcusable." Givens did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
White's daughter, Kourtney White, said her mother had died suddenly, and that the body mix-up made the
"awful experience" even worse.
The family told ABC 6 the funeral home promised to pay for the funeral services because of the mix-up. White's family said they plan to lodge a formal complaint at the State of Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.
The Marlan Gary Funeral Home did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.