Autopsy ‘Mix-Up’ Sends Woman’s Remains And Buckets Of Organs To Burial Site

Westchester County, NY – A New York medical examiner reportedly sent Rhoda Callwood’s organs in buckets inside a casket for burial. The deceased’s relatives are shocked and angry about the plastic buckets of organs buried with the 82-year-old woman’s body.

John F.X. McKeon Funeral Home Director William Curran had this to say to Fox News about the incident with Rhoda Callwood’s remains:

“It’s bizarre. I’ve never seen anything like it in 20 years.”

The Bronx funeral home director also noted that Callwood’s relatives requested two autopsies be conducted on her body. One autopsy was undertaken at the New York Presbyterian Hospital and another by the city medical examiner.

When the New York woman’s remains were transported from the hospital to the city coroner, the body was reportedly missing the organs. Investigators from the medical examiner’s office reportedly went back to the hospital the following day to retrieve the Rhoda Callwood’s organs.

Once the second autopsy was completed, the medical examiner’s office sent Callwood’s remains to the John F.X. McKeon Funeral Home in two different shipments, WABC-TV notes. The staffers reportedly did not want to reopen the body since it would soon be prepared for burial.

Rhoda Callwood’s daughter Glenda Callwood had this to say about the incident:

“I am so confused with everything going on, I don’t have to mourn, really.”

Callwood’s family wants the buckets of organs tested to make sure they belong to their loved one. The hospital issued a statement sympathizing with the relatives. The release also noted that the typical protocol at the medical examiner’s officer is to put organs back inside of the bodies.

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