Buzz
There are a few monumental events in life that you want to get absolutely right. You dream of a magical high school prom, you envision college graduation as a momentous achievement, and you expect your wedding day to be flawless. But if you jump ahead to the final chapter of your 'perfect life moments' timeline, you'll arrive at funerals. Yes, we're talking about funerals.
You hope everything unfolds as it should. After all, people are grieving, and it's not the right time for any blunders. But as life often reminds us, things don't always go as planned. Here are the ten funerals that took a disastrous turn.
10. Wrong Video Played
In 2016, Simon Lewis, 33, and his infant son, also named Simon, tragically lost their lives in a car accident in Cardiff, Wales.
At the time of the crash, Simon's wife, who was pregnant and seated in the passenger seat, grew concerned about the well-being of their unborn child. She was rushed to the hospital where doctors performed a C-section, but tragically, the baby did not survive.
The family had put together a heartfelt memorial video for both Simon and his son, expecting to see it during the funeral. However, the video that played was so far removed from their expectations that it felt like a completely different world. Yes, as you may have guessed, it was explicit content.
For a whole four minutes, the funeral attendees were forced to watch uncensored adult material while the funeral home staff scrambled to figure out how to stop it. The Reverend later recalled, 'I remember glancing up at the screen and hearing a loud, strange noise.' What kind of noise was that, Reverend?
Naturally, the guests were outraged. The funeral directors were equally baffled, unable to explain how the wrong video played, and launched an official investigation. The funeral home’s best guess was that the new Smart TV screen had somehow been accidentally connected to a pornography broadcast.
Yep, that's the explanation they provided.
9. Where Did the Body Go?
Julie Mott, aged 25, passed away in 2015 from cystic fibrosis. A week after her death, which would have marked her 26th birthday, her family and friends gathered at Mission Park North in San Antonio, Texas, to honor her memory. The memorial was a beautiful tribute to a lively young woman. Afterward, her casket was transported to a holding room, where it was to be cremated the following day.
But things took an unexpected turn.
The next morning, when the staff went to retrieve both the casket and the body, they were gone. There was no sign of forced entry, leaving everyone utterly confused and understandably furious — and honestly, who could blame them?
There were two main suspects in the case, one being Mott’s ex-boyfriend, Bill Willburn. Willburn had a well-known obsession with Mott, and curiously, he stayed around for about ten to fifteen minutes after the memorial service ended, long after everyone had left.
The second suspect was the subcontractor company hired by the funeral home, Beyer and Beitel. This company had a tarnished reputation, having been sued just months earlier for accidentally swapping the bodies of two women. The subcontractors had unrestricted access to the premises, even after hours.
Due to the nature of the 'burglary,' investigators determined that the body had likely been taken during the three-hour window between the end of the memorial service and the closing time of Mission Park North. Both suspects were potential culprits, but neither Willburn nor Beyer and Beitel faced charges for the crime.
Sadly, Julie Mott's body has never been found.
8. Somewhere Over the Rainbow...
Judy Garland, best known for her role as Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz' and Esther Smith in 'Meet Me in St. Louis,' tragically passed away from a drug overdose in 1969. Her death was deeply mourned across the nation, as she had been a beloved cinematic icon since her debut. She also remains an enduring figure in the gay community.
There’s a wealth of cultural analysis explaining why Judy Garland is seen as such an icon. However, the simplified, and somewhat reductive, explanation is that Garland's understanding of suffering resonated deeply with the struggles of the LGBTQAI+ community. While this explanation may be oversimplified, it remains popular. The full discussion would require an entirely different article.
So, how does all of this connect to a funeral?
Whether by coincidence or not, some historians, enthusiasts of history, and die-hard Judy Garland fans link her death to the infamous Stonewall Riots in New York City. They suggest that the collective grief and mourning triggered by her passing led to the police confrontation that ignited the riots, ultimately sparking the LGBTQAI+ movement.
Alternatively, it could have been that the LGBTQAI+ community in New York City had simply reached a breaking point after enduring years of discrimination and abuse.
Regardless of the cause, Garland passed away just five days before the riots, and while her death marked a tragedy, it also set in motion a movement that would lead to something profoundly transformative.
7. Plagiarism is Never Okay, Got It?
We’ve all been warned about the repercussions of plagiarism: losing your job, getting an automatic failing grade, or even being expelled from school. Honestly, it's not a great way to live. But, if you happen to be a murderer, who knows? Maybe intellectual theft is just another option on the table.
In 2015, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Christopher Panayioutou not only killed his wife, but he also delivered a heartfelt eulogy — that was stolen. Of course, at the time, no one knew he was a killer.
However, once he was caught, the full extent of his actions came to light. Panayioutou had plagiarized his eulogy from a tribute to another woman, Jennifer Atkins, who had passed away five years earlier.
6. Fall Out
In 2021, Tina Morales from Los Angeles buried her father, a respected figure in her family. Sadly, during the funeral, the bottom of the casket collapsed. As you might expect, Morales took legal action.
The lawsuit explains that the family had chosen a casket they believed would be durable and reliable, trusting Universal Caskets, the manufacturer, to ensure her father's body was treated with care. That trust was broken when, well, he fell out.
Ariel Suarez, the owner of Universal Caskets, denied any knowledge of the incident and claimed he did not sell the casket to Morales. He suggested that a potential weight limit issue could have caused the mishap. Regardless, Morales was understandably disturbed by the event, and it was certainly not a dignified way to send her father off.
5. Just Like the One-Winged Dove
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzdd1wOODn0&t=30s
You’ve probably already seen this video, and it’s actually one of the less shocking events on this list — even though what happens is still pretty awful.
In what was meant to be a touching dove release ceremony symbolizing the soul’s freedom after death, the attendees watched in disbelief as one of the doves was struck by a huge truck.
In the video, you can hear the collective gasp from the mourners as the truck passes by, hitting and instantly killing the bird. The event is followed by an uncomfortable silence, with everyone exchanging looks of disbelief.
4. Drinking on the Job
In 2017, loved ones arrived at the burial site for 33-year-old Christina Gilbert. Upon arrival, they found that the grave attendants were still in the process of digging the grave. To make matters worse, they noticed beer bottle caps scattered around the plot.
The family and friends quickly removed the attendant — mainly because he was drinking on the job — and finished the task of digging the grave themselves. What was supposed to be a peaceful burial for Gilbert turned into a more frustrating and grim situation. Christina’s sister, Heidi Lawson, appeared deeply distressed in a news report, expressing how upsetting it was to ‘watch your sister’s coffin sit there… it’s not right.’
Eventually, they were able to bury Christina after several hours of delay.
3. Still Alive
A wake is a moment for friends and family to bid their final farewells to the deceased, and if you’re like I was at my grandfather’s wake, it’s also a time to check that the person is truly gone. Oh, was that a nostril twitching? No, never mind.
It may sound like something out of a horror movie, but it happens. People are sometimes mistakenly declared dead and end up ‘coming back to life’ at the funeral home — no resuscitation required. This phenomenon is known as Lazarus syndrome. Typically, though, it happens while the body is still in the morgue and not during the wake when the deceased is already in the coffin.
Usually.
In 2014, a three-year-old girl from the Philippines was declared dead after battling a high fever for three days. However, she unexpectedly woke up inside her casket during her wake! The attending doctor confirmed she was still alive. She was able to leave the funeral home with her parents, but tragically, she passed away not long after.
2. Take Me With You!
Much like Hamlet’s tragic leap into Ophelia’s grave, many mourners have been known to throw themselves into the graves of their dearly departed. While it may be met with dark humor from onlookers, for the mourners themselves, it’s far from a joke.
What makes this grave-jumping case different is that it wasn’t just one person who decided to dive in; it was three. In Nakuru, Kenya, the wife and two cousins of the deceased jumped into the grave while the preacher was still delivering his sermon.
But hold on, they didn’t do it out of sadness. Their reason was far more practical. They weren’t sure if they should bury the body at that point.
Edwin, the man who had passed, was tragically murdered on December 3. His body was discovered the following day on a farm next to the suspected killer's house. The family was deeply conflicted about whether to send his remains back to the morgue for further investigation into his murder. They were really torn on this matter.
The video captures pure chaos, intense emotions, and protest. At one point, the coffin is already in the grave, and people are desperately trying to pull it back out.
1. Runaway Casket
A traditional burial in China took a disastrous turn when the casket tumbled down a steep mountainside, colliding with several people below. Three individuals sustained minor to moderate injuries.
You might be wondering, why was the casket being moved up the mountainside in the first place?
According to Feng Shui expert Zhen Yi, graves in rural areas are selected with Feng Shui principles in mind. The mountain was chosen because it was an ideal site. In Chinese culture, great respect is paid to the deceased, so the casket’s fall was a significant event. To clarify, the incident wasn’t caused by the funeral workers; one of the pulley ropes broke.
