Grieving family find stranger in funeral casket

This was one of NZH Lifestyle's top stories for 2017

A son was left horrified after finding the wrong body in the casket when he went to say his final goodbyes to his mother.

Maurice Dunn and his family gathered at the Swanson Funeral Home in Michigan, entrusting the company with the final arrangements for his mother Alice.

The clothes were right. The hair was right. But it wasn't Alice in the casket.

"I told them 'that ain't our mama'," Dunn told news station WNEM.

"It was a total stranger dressed in the clothing that my brother Joey [picked out] and the wig selected for our mother," he said.

Dunn immediately notified the funeral home staff about the mistake but, incredibly, they suggested the family was wrong.

"The funeral staff insisted that it was our mother and that a name band is the reason why he knew it was our mother," Dunn said.

After realising their mistake the funeral home eventually brought out the right person.

Dunn said the funeral home workers were unprofessional and refused to take the blame for the mix-up.

"Admit your negligence," Dunn told them on WNEM. "Second of all, apologise full heartedly."