A family whose son died abroad said they lived like they were in a horror film for months.
The parents of a British teacher who died while working abroad have spoken of their horror and heartbreak after they were mistakenly sent the body of the 77-year-old men.
LADbible reports this.
Maureen Thompson and Stephen Nightingale said they have been “living like a horror movie” for the past few months due to a horrific mix-up following the death of their son Kevin.
The couple explained that the 39-year-old, who worked as a teacher in Cambodia, was found dead in his home on May 3 by a co-worker after he failed to show up for work for two days.
Authorities in the South East Asian country told them Kevin had died after falling down the stairs, possibly from a heart attack.
The grief-stricken parents, who live in Nottingham, began the gruelling task of repatriating their son's body to the UK, and had to raise £7,500 to bring him home.
Maureen and Stephen said they had turned to Cambodian funeral services company Evergreen Funeral Services & Repatriation, which is listed as an international funeral director on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) website. However, they claim the firm had instead “continued their pain and worry”.
The mum told how she was told Kevin's body had arrived at a Nottingham funeral director's on June 11 and how she and her other son, Sean, headed to see him.
But the couple said they simply 'couldn't believe their eyes' when they walked into the room and saw a man almost twice Kevin's age.
'I thought, 'Oh my God,'' Maureen said. 'Shock and horror. It was pure panic, it was absolutely terrifying.'
Father Stephen recalls receiving a shock phone call from his son Sean to explain what had happened. The 63-year-old recalled: 'Sean said, 'That's not Kevin.' And I said, 'Are you kidding me?'?' I felt sick to my stomach. Everyone was like, “I hope they didn't cremate him.”
It is believed that the repatriation service mistakenly sent the body of a 77-year-old Canadian to the family instead of Kevin's – and by the time it was eventually brought home to the family, he was “almost unrecognisable”.
Maureen explained that they had to seal his body in a coffin once the coroner had collected it because it had “contaminated” the funeral home's morgue due to the level of decomposition that had already taken place. “I'll never forget it, it was so horrible,” added the devastated mother.
Evergreen has reimbursed Kevin's parents for repatriation costs, but that has done little to cheer up the family, who want someone to take responsibility.
Maureen added: “How the hell did they get that wrong? I just can't believe it. I've never known anything like this in my life.” Stephen added: “The mistakes that were made there must have been appalling, to confuse a 39-year-old with a man in his 70s. It's incomprehensible. Shouldn't they be doing customs checks, double checks and triple checks?.”
Kevin's family are still waiting for the results of swabs taken during a post-mortem in the UK, which they have been told could take up to 18 weeks.
The deceased, who lived and taught in Takeo province in Cambodia for about 10 years, was buried next to his grandmother on July 25. The Foreign Office has confirmed that it has helped the family of a British man who died in Cambodia.
A spokesman for Evergreen told The Telegraph that Kevin's body “cannot be sent without all the necessary documentation and permission from the relevant authorities”, adding that his body had been embalmed and cleared by customs.
Recall that earlier in Canada, a family received the body of a Russian man in place of his father. He was about 20 years younger, with tattoos and a full head of hair.
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