Cemetery sued after father's remains found 'dripping' out of casket
THE WOODLANDS, Texas (KTRK) -- A World War II veteran's family is suing a cemetery after they said their hero's remains literally dripped out of his casket.
Doug McMinn said his father, Robert McMinn, served in the Air Force and took part in more than 30 bombing missions over Germany.
"You talk about the greatest generation, he is expiatory of that type of character," McMinn said.
He battled Parkinson's disease and died in 2010.
As he neared death, he says his family decided on Forest Park, the Woodlands funeral home cemetery.
"They have 'dignity' on every one of their marketing brochures," McMinn said.
McMinn says because his dad's mausoleum wasn't finished, he was temporarily placed in another.
But he couldn't believe what happened two months later.
"I understand that bodies are going to degrade, but I don't expect to hear a call back from this place, that sells dignity, about how he's dripping out of his casket," McMinn said.
McMinn, his brother and mother filed a million dollar lawsuit against the cemetery.
The lawsuit also alleges the cemetery asked them to cover clean up costs saying, "Plaintiffs were responsible for purchasing a new casket, tenting the entirety of the crypt, and for the quarantine measures implemented for the process of transferring Robert's now liquefied remains to another crypt."
"It's unthinkable to me that a man, like my father, would go through that," McMinn said.
This occurred seven years ago, but McMinn said after hearing it's happened to other families, he decided to act.
We did find at least one other recent lawsuit involving the same cemetery with mausoleum issues.
We reached out to the owners.
They sent us a statement, saying, "Due to pending litigation and out of respect for the family, we are unable to share any details on this matter."
McMinn said he is ready to move on, but it's still hard.
His parents planned to be placed head to head.
But now, that's not an option for his mom.
"It's kind of a nice thought to think that they'll be there together," McMinn said. "They were married 60 years. That was a wonderful notion, but it all falls apart when you lose confidence in the integrity of the people that are providing the services."
We reached out to the National Funeral Directors Association.
An expert said it's rare, but a body can liquefy inside a mausoleum.
He says poor embalming, and how someone dies can be factors.
As for the McMinn family, Robert is still inside a mausoleum.
They are debating whether to remove him to be with his wife when she passes.
