Lakewood Woman Buried by Manalapan Funeral Home in Stranger’s Clothes and Wrong Cemetery
This is a crazy and unbelievable mistake. As reported by NJ.com this is one of the worst things that a grieving family could experience. Bloomfield-Cooper Jewish Chapels of Manalapan is being sued by the family of Janet Kay, who was not only buried in the wrong cemetery, but she was also dressed in someone else’s clothes.
The eighty two year old Lakewood woman died in her sleep in October of 2020, and her family was astounded when the specific clothing and jewelry they gave the funeral home for Janet did not wind up on their mother’s body. Apparently, Janet wanted to be buried in a certain outfit, so the family made it “abundantly clear” to Bloomfield-Cooper. The family had to have her service without their wife and mother.
But Janet wasn’t buried in her outfit or even at the right cemetery. The family alleges that instead of Mount Sinai Cemetery, she was buried at another graveyard in another woman’s clothing and wearing the wrong wedding ring. The family said they were unaware of the blunder until two days after Janet’s death, when Bloomfield-Cooper staff told the family they’d lost her body.
The funeral home staff found out they had lost Janet when they opened her casket and showed her family via FaceTime a different woman who was wearing her clothes and jewelry. Apparently, family members screamed when they realized the horrible discovery.
Bloomfield-Cooper eventually found where Janet was buried and they dug her up to retrieve her body. Funeral home staff later told the family they’d improperly tagged the elderly woman, which led to the mix-up.
Janet’s family including her daughter Robin who is an lawyer, is now suing the funeral home for emotional distress, for breach of contract and for mishandling her body. The Monmouth County law suit says “Janet Kay’s final corporal moments in the eyes of the Jewish faith were not presented to her full family and friends. Janet Kay was not buried with respect and dignity.”
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