A grieving Oregon mom was forced to exhume her son’s body after a funeral home double-booked a burial site. Paula Tin Nyo, the mother of the deceased 20-year-old Tyber Harrison, had to fight a legal battle to allow her son’s remains to stay in the plot her family purchased.
But the judge decided in favor of the other family that had bought the plot before them. Despite being responsible, Skyline Funeral Home filed a lawsuit in 2023 asking for the grave to be removed.
They also implied there was a breach of the contract when the mother put the deceased son’s ashes in the vault. The ashes, along with his hair and baby teeth, were added to the vault in 2021. He died after being hit by a truck while walking.
Mom watches son be unearthed after funeral home double-booked plot https://t.co/eOSRzPU77V pic.twitter.com/aEaEVFhTvS
— The Independent (@Independent) January 1, 2026
The boy’s distressed father, David Williams, told KOIN, “I think the humanity or lack of it, the cruelty, and someone feeling so entitled that they just wanted that piece of property when someone’s son is already in the ground was sort of unfathomable.”
In early December, the judge ruled Skyline had double-booked the site. First, they sold it to Martin and Jane Reser, who run a billion-dollar company. They purchased the land for their 30-year-old son, who passed away due to an overdose.
A young man’s grave was unearthed Tuesday after an Oregon funeral home double-booked the gravesite. https://t.co/EgWoydFnQg
— CBS47 News (@CBS47) January 1, 2026
They wanted to install a bench at the burial site where Tyber’s remains were located. Furthermore, the civil jury ruled in a separate verdict that Skyline did not cause emotional distress to the mother, finding she breached the original contract. She was reportedly not allowed to add human cremains.
Meanwhile, the mother’s lawyer, Darian Stanford, defended her by saying she was grieving. He added that Paula and her family deserve better. Stanford also mentioned that only a small amount of ashes in a watercolor painting was added to the vault. Her husband was surprised that anyone could think she was not suffering from grief.
On the other hand, Skyline tried to rectify the situation by offering a $16,000 refund and a burial site close to the original one. But they did not receive any reply from Paula.
The mother begged for his remains not to be exhumed, but Skyline started digging the vault on Tuesday and will remove it in the coming weeks. Paula still has to find a new burial site for her son.
