O'FALLON, Mo. — A family is suing after they say their loved one's brain was given to them in a cardboard box by a Saint Charles funeral home.
Fred Love was a husband and a father. He was also a veteran who retired as a captain in the US Armed Forces. Fred died suddenly on Sept. 25, 2022, after collapsing in his O'Fallon, Missouri home. EMTs tried resuscitating him but were unsuccessful.
The family honored Fred's wishes and donated his organs using Mid-America Transplant services. Fred's wife, Glenda Love, was told that Mid-America had a contract with St. Charles-based Baue Funeral Services and were offering free embalming and transportation to the funeral home.
Glenda agreed to use this service.
On Sept. 27, 2022 Baue Funeral Home took custody of Fred's body. His funeral was held on Oct. 3, 2022 at Simpson Funeral Home Chapel.
Kimberly Stephens, Fred's stepdaughter, was immediately upset by the condition of his body during the funeral. Fred's skin was reportedly bruised and purple according to Shawna Jones, also Fred's stepdaughter. The family believes he was poorly embalmed.
After the funeral, Fred's body was transported to the crematory.
According to the lawsuit, On Oct. 6, 2022, when Fred's family arrived to pick up the urn, they were told all of his remains were in the urn. The family was also given a sack with a cardboard box inside and told that they were getting parts of his clothing, the lawsuit said.
During the six-hour car ride home, the family began to smell "an extremely pungent chemical and developed a severe headache," according to the lawsuit.
When the family reached Glenda's home, they placed the urn inside of the house and set the sack in the garage. The lawsuit said the next day, they smelled a strange odor coming from the garage.
The lawsuit said the family discovered the source of the smell was the box. Initially, they didn't open the box because it had a biohazard label on it. They later discovered that the box contained a portion of Fred's brain infused with PermaCav 50.
An Embalming Case Report reportedly should have been sent with Fred's body and received when the body arrived at its destination. Court documents say it's a mystery how it ended up in the family's hands.
The family is now suing Baur Funeral Home, Mid-America Transplant Services and others involved due to negligence and the "immense psychological trauma" the family has experienced.
The lawsuit said Colby Hitchcock, the director of Saint Charles Baue Funeral Home, called the incident inexcusable.
"I will acknowledge our breakdown. But I'd say multiple systems broke down. I'm not going to bear 100% responsibility," Hitchcock was quoted in the lawsuit.
5 On Your Side reached out to Mid-America Transplant Services and, the Chief Executive Officer and President of the company, Kevin Lee released this statement:
“It is heartbreaking that this family had such a traumatic experience following the death of their loved one. Mid-America Transplant denies responsibility for the situation as alleged, and has standard protocols that it consistently follows in coordinating the donation process while honoring the lives of the heroic individuals who say yes to organ and tissue donation.”
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