The vice president of a Detroit funeral home was found dead on September 24, days after a family accused the business of cremating their mother by mistake and presenting another woman’s body at her viewing.
Joseph Hutchison Jr., 65, vice president of operations at Hutchison Funeral Home on East Seven Mile Road, was found around 8 p.m. inside a residence at the Harbortown apartment complex off East Jefferson Avenue after a friend went to check on him. Sources told Metro Detroit News he was found with a belt around his neck, a detail Detroit police have not confirmed. Police said they do not suspect foul play, and the Wayne County Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of his death. A public relations representative for the funeral home confirmed his death.
His death comes as the Detroit funeral home remains under scrutiny over what happened to Kimberly Moore. Moore, 61, was a mother of five and grandmother of 28. She died September 3 after battling endometrial cancer, and she had planned her own funeral arrangements so her children would not have to.
On September 18, her daughter Bianca Robinson arrived early to do her mother’s makeup, nails and eyelashes before the viewing. The woman in the casket was wearing her mother’s dress and wig, but Robinson knew right away it was not her mother. A mole her mother had on her toe was missing.
“This is not my momma,” Robinson told a staff member. She said the employee apologized and explained that two women had come into the funeral home around the same time as her mother, and that Moore must have been cremated when she first arrived. The family said staff suggested Moore’s toe tag got wet and fell off. Moore was supposed to be cremated only after her funeral, once everyone had a chance to see her one last time.
Her son Byron Moore told 7 News Detroit that the woman had on their mother’s dress, hair and makeup, but she was not their mother. The family protested at the Detroit funeral home, and police were called to the scene. The family claims the funeral home locked its doors and tried to cover up the mistake.
The funeral home said it was heartbroken and deeply sorry for what the Moore family experienced, and it launched an internal review. Hutchison Jr. told 7 News Detroit before his death that the business was investigating. Spokesman Mario Morrow said that if the funeral home is found at fault, it will make the family whole.
That review is still ongoing. The Moore family held a celebration of life for their mother on September 19 without her remains. They say they have not received the ashes the funeral home claims belong to her, and they still do not have remains they accept as their mother’s.
The funeral home says it is still working to identify the woman whose body was prepared for Moore’s viewing. Moore’s relatives have said they are worried about that woman’s family too, and they are asking anyone who believes she could be their loved one to contact the funeral home.
No lawsuit, criminal charges or state action against the Detroit funeral home has been reported.
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