Family awarded $8M after daughter's body vanishes from San Antonio funeral home
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- A jury awarded $8 million to a San Antonio couple grieving after their daughter's body disappeared from a funeral home.
The Motts sued Mission Park Funeral Homes after their daughter Julie's body vanished without a trace following a memorial service in 2015, according to KSAT-TV.
Mott died after a courageous fight against cystic fibrosis.
Cameras were banned from the courtroom at the insistence of Mission Park's lawyers, but we do know there was wrangling over the facts in the case.
Mott's family alleges Mission Park's processes and policies contributed to the disappearance of her body. The funeral home was sued for negligence and gross negligence.
Attorneys for the family argued the funeral home's security system was inadequate and that Mission Park employees needed more training to prevent something like their case from happening.
The funeral home, however, hoped to lay blame on the late woman's ex-boyfriend.
The Motts had planned on cremating their daughter after the memorial service, which allegedly distressed Bill Wilburn.
Wilburn was initially accused by the Motts of taking Julie's body, but he was never charged after facing extensive questioning by police.
Attorneys for Mission Park argued in court that the theft of Mott's body was something the funeral home "could never have anticipated."
Mott's body was never found, and no one has been arrested in connection to her disappearance.
Family sues San Antonio funeral home after daughter's body disappears
