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A family from California reeling from the loss of a loved one who died in Texas was shocked when the body inside the casket wasn't their family member. The family is now suing several agencies related to the incident, according to WFAA.
Jose Carlos Gonzalez, a long-haul driver, died in March 2020 in Grapevine, Texas, after becoming ill while driving through Tarrant County. Gonzalez's wife, Cecilia Gonzalez, arranged for her husband's body to be embalmed and transported from a Fort Worth funeral home to one in California.
The family's lawsuit alleges the agencies involved in the transport of Gonzalez's body across the country didn't verify they were sending the correct body to California. Gonzalez's body was switched for a man whose name is Jesse Gonzalez. "In the lawsuit, the last name of Jose Carlos Gonzalez and Jesse Gonzalez are spelled the same, but in medical examiner records, Jesse's last name is spelled 'Gonzales' with an 'S,'" WFAA reported. Jesse Gonzalez died in Fort Worth a day after Jose did, on March 21, 2020.
Jesse Gonzalez's body was supposed to be sent to the Willed Body Program at the University of North Texas Science Center, where his organs were set to be harvested and his body cremated. Instead, they sent the body of Jose Carlos Gonzalez. Jesse Gonzalez's body was taken to Accucare Mortuary Services in Fort Worth where it was taken to the funeral home Cecilia Gonzalez had originally arranged for it to be taken. Here, Jesse Gonzalez's body was embalmed and sent to California.
UNTSC and Accucare did not check they had the correct bodies, the lawsuit states.
The family of Jose Carlos Gonzalez realized what had happened during the funeral in California, where Jesse Gonzalez's body laid in an open casket. "They found out that it wasn’t the correct body at the funeral, in my opinion adding to the shock value. The widow, the friends and family — they were all there," the family's attorney Megan David said. Additionally, the lawsuit said the family "experienced extreme emotional distress upon realizing a complete stranger, Jesse Gonzalez, was in the coffin." The Gonzalez family is seeking a jury trial and at least $1 million in damages.