• By Sakshi Srivastava
  • Sat, 26 Jul 2025 02:28 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Two grieving parents are suing two funeral homes after a shocking and traumatic experience involving the remains of their deceased son. The updated lawsuit, filed this week, alleges that the couple was unknowingly given their son’s brain, which was handed to them in an unmarked box that later began to smell, leak, and ultimately left an emotional scar too deep to forget.

A Horrific Discovery

In 2023, Timothy Garlington, a 56-year-old US Marine Corps veteran who worked in school financial aid, passed away. His remains were initially handled by Southern Cremations & Funerals at Cheatham Hill in Georgia and later transferred to Nix & Nix Funeral Homes in Pennsylvania, where his parents—Lawrence and Abbey Butler—went to collect his belongings.

Among the items handed to them was a white cardboard box containing an unlabeled red box. Abbey Butler, distraught, could not bring herself to open the red box. Days later, the box began to emit a foul odor and leak fluid inside their car. When Lawrence Butler lifted the red box, the liquid spilled onto his hands. Their attorney, L. Chris Stewart, said that the substance turned out to be Garlington’s brain matter.

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Funeral Homes Blame Each Other

Upon contacting Southern Cremations, the Butlers were informed that the brain had been mistakenly included in the shipment of remains. The Butlers then returned the red box to Nix & Nix. However, both funeral homes have attempted to deflect responsibility. Julian Nix, manager of Nix & Nix, claimed the box was sent to them without any labels and that it was not listed among Garlington’s official belongings. He added that they notified authorities as soon as they discovered the contents and were told by the state board that they were not at fault, although no documents have been made public yet. Southern Cremations, owned by ASV Partners, declined to comment when contacted by the Associated Press.

Emotional And Legal Fallout

“The parents’ last memory is holding their son’s brain,” Stewart stated during a press conference. He added that the incident caused severe emotional trauma and violated all standard practices for handling human remains. He said other funeral directors confirmed that no organ should ever be shipped this way, and if it must be, it should be sealed and marked as biohazardous. The lawsuit accuses both funeral homes of negligence, reckless infliction of emotional distress, and mishandling of human remains. Lawrence Butler, still shaken, said, “I had to get rid of that car. I just couldn’t stand the idea that the remains were in that car.”

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Garlington has since been buried at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, but the Butlers remain unsure whether his brain was reunited with the rest of his body. “They fear, which is totally understandable: Is he resting in peace?” said Stewart. The family now seeks not just compensation, but clarity, accountability, and reform to ensure no other family endures the same trauma.