California Family Claims Funeral Home Mishandled Body

A family is suing a Central California funeral home claiming it disfigured the body of their loved one and prepared the wrong body for viewing.

The Fresno Bee reports the widow and children of 87-year-old Wrainey Farmer Sr. are suing Smith Manor Grace Chapel of Madera for negligence causing emotional and mental distress.

The complaint was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The family’s lawyer is Mark Geragos, the celebrity attorney who represented Scott Peterson, the Modesto man convicted of killing his wife.

The suit says when Farmer’s family arrived at the funeral home for a viewing, they were shocked to find another body in the casket dressed in Farmer’s favorite suit and tie.

The funeral home’s attorney concedes the wrong body was displayed, but says the mistake was corrected before a public viewing.