A California family had a terrible shock in the middle of a loved one's funeral.
The family was gathered together to say goodbye to the late Cher Lee, who passed away on September 23, 2021.
But upon looking in her casket they were horrified to discover that a deceased member of a totally different family was lying where their grandmother's body should have been.
Cher Lee's grandchildren are now suing Fresno Funeral Chapel - which oversaw the services - for the emotional trauma they experienced as a result of the mix-up, reports The Fresno Bee.
"In the middle of the funeral, however, to the extreme shock and surprise of all in attendance, the Lee family opened the casket to discover the wrong body," the family said in a lawsuit filed on February 2, 2022.
According to court documents, the funeral home "had dressed Cher Lee in the Khang family members' ceremonial funeral clothes and was now in the open casket in place of the departed Khang family member."
As well as the shock of discovering the mix-up, the Lee family are also contending with spiritual concerns, as they worry that their grandmother will not make it to her final resting place because of the chaotic funeral.
"The afterlife and its preparation are of extreme significance for both the living and the departed," the lawsuit reads.
It goes on to explain: "Indeed, many Hmong believe that when the body is mishandled, and the funeral songs sung, the deceased relative not only fails to make their journey to the afterlife but the deceased stays lost between this life and the next and curses the surviving family members."
The Bee reports that Fresno Funeral Chapel admitted to the mistake on Friday and took responsibility for the mix-up.
In a statement, the chapel's funeral director Steven Smith told the outlet that they should have done more to prevent such an incident from ever happening.
"It was our mistake for putting the wrong body out," said Smith, adding: "We should have double-checked. I pray it doesn't happen again."
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