February 8, 2008

Lawsuit Seeks to Change Medical Examiners’ Practices By Stephen Lee

Remember that story about the funeral director in Larimer County, Colo., who refused to comply with the health department’s demands that he pull dental fillings out of bodies before cremating them? Well, they may have just outdone that one in Columbus, Ohio, where the story of Christopher Albrecht has made headlines across the nation and around the globe.

Albrecht, 30, died in December 2001, in a car accident. During his autopsy, the Hamilton County coroner removed his brain and didn’t put it back. That’s common practice during an autopsy, according to The Associated Press, but Albrecht’s family was outraged when they learned about it several years later.

Now, a huge class-action suit has been launched against coroners in 87 of Ohio’s 88 counties, covering cases going back to 1991. (The one county not included in the suit, Hamilton County, has already settled with families for $6 million, according to the Washington Post.)  read more...

Man Pays for Funeral with Stolen Credit Card

SEBRING, FLA. - A Sebring man recently was arrested after he allegedly paid for the funeral of a friend with a credit card that wasn't his, Highlands Today reported.

Jeffrey Alan Hornsby, 44, was charged with grand theft of $20,000 or more but less than $100,000, fraud, fraud impersonation, illegal use of a credit card and forgery.

According to an arrest report, on April 20, 2006, Eugene Piotrowski was killed in a motor vehicle accident. Hornsby paid for the funeral, which was handled by the Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home in Avon Park. The bill came to $3,604.  read more...

Plan to Replace Tomb of the Unknowns Stalls

ARLINGTON, VA. - The Tomb of the Unknowns monument at Arlington National Cemetery cannot be replaced without a review of its conditions as the result of an amendment added onto this year's defense authorization bill, The Washington Post reported.

The amendment, sponsored by Sens. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and James Webb (D-Va.) was included in a bill signed by President Bush. The cemetery can repair the monument, however.

John C. Metzler Jr., superintendent of the cemetery, said that the cemetery would move ahead with plans to repair the monument but noted that replacing it altogether was "still a very viable option."  read more...