Family Says Funeral Home Cremated Wrong Woman, Dressed Another Body In Her Clothes. Then Its VP Turned Up Dead Days Later

A Detroit funeral home was already facing serious questions after a family said their mother was mistakenly cremated before they could say goodbye and another woman’s body was prepared in her clothing. Days later, the funeral home’s vice president of operations was found dead.

Joseph Hutchison Jr., vice president of operations at Hutchison Funeral Home, was found dead Thursday, September 24. His death was confirmed by a representative of the funeral home. Authorities have not publicly announced his cause or manner of death, and there is currently no evidence establishing that his death was connected to the controversy surrounding the funeral home.

The controversy began after the family of 61 year old Kimberlly Kaye Moore arrived for her scheduled September 18 viewing. Moore’s family said they quickly realized the woman lying in the casket was not their mother, despite the body allegedly being prepared using clothing and personal items intended for Moore.

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Moore’s daughter, Bianca Robinson, said one of the details that confirmed something was wrong was her mother’s feet. Robinson knew her mother had a distinctive mole, but the woman in the casket did not. The family confronted funeral home employees and demanded to know where Moore’s body was.

According to the family, they were eventually informed that Moore had apparently been cremated after her body was confused with another woman who arrived at the funeral home around the same time. Moore’s family said the cremation was supposed to happen only after they had been given an opportunity to view her and say goodbye.

That left the family facing an almost unimaginable situation. Their mother had apparently been cremated before the scheduled viewing, while another deceased woman had allegedly been dressed and prepared in her place.

The family ultimately held a memorial service without Moore’s body. When ashes believed to belong to Moore were made available, relatives requested DNA testing because they wanted confirmation that the remains they were being given actually belonged to their mother. The funeral home said it offered to pay for the testing.

Hutchison Funeral Home apologized and announced an internal investigation into what happened. Detroit police also became involved as the allegations attracted widespread attention and members of Moore’s family protested outside the funeral home.

Hutchison Jr. was approached by reporters about the allegations before his death. When questioned about whether Moore had been mistakenly cremated, he said the funeral home was investigating the situation and referred additional questions to a spokesperson.

Days later, Hutchison Jr. was found dead.

The timing adds another shocking development to a case that was already attracting significant attention. However, authorities have not publicly connected Hutchison’s death to the funeral home controversy, and no evidence released so far establishes that the two events are related.

For Moore’s family, the original questions remain. They want to know how their mother could have been cremated before the scheduled viewing, how another woman’s body could allegedly have been prepared in her clothes, and whether the cremated remains offered to them actually belong to Moore.

Investigators are now dealing with another unanswered question as well. What caused the death of one of the funeral home’s highest ranking officials only days after the controversy became public?