The son’s mother, who lost him to a car accident, claims she was told after seeing his condition by employees of the funeral home, “Don’t you make a scene,” with another purportedly telling her the “flies got to him.”
Warning: The following story contains graphic and disturbing details.
A lawsuit filed by a mother in Chesapeake, Virginia reveals some disturbing allegations against the funeral home that handled the service for her son, who had passed away on May 2, 2022 from a car accident at the age of 24 years old.
Seven days after his death, Terreon Williams’ family came together at Snelling Funeral Home to mourn his passing, and were instead so impacted by what they experienced that they retained a lawyer and have now filed suit.
According to the suit obtained by NBC affiliate WAVY, Terreon’s mother Tabitha Worrell and the family made a $3,000 down payment to the funeral home to handle the arrangements and scheduled a viewing and service.
“As mourners approached the body of Torreon Williams, these people noticed that Torreon Williams’ body, particularly his face, nose and mouth, were covered with and consumed by clumps of maggots,” the lawsuit details of what happened on May 9, 2022.
Tabitha, “her family, and friends experienced shock and horror at the grotesque display of the body of Torreon Williams,” reads the lawsuit.
“They provided this family with a grotesque freak show,” the family’s attorney Kevin Sharp told WAVY. “Maggots pouring out of this young man’s nose. Maggots in his mouth, and on his face.”
“I just remember my sister screaming,” Tabitha’s sister Tiffany Barnhart told the outlet.
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And she also remembers how the staff allegedly responded, with Tabitha saying she saw one female staffer “placing her hand on her, telling her not to make a scene.”
The way the lawsuit describes the purported encounter, the employee placed her hands on Tabitha and told her, “Don’t you make a scene.” Another employee allegedly said the “flies got to him.”
“She was mortified by the way they reacted,” Tiffany told WAVY. “They almost seemed to say, ‘You don’t overreact here.’ You’re the one to blame, not what they had done to her son.”
According to the lawsuit, the maggots had been on Terreon’s body for some time and “had been purposely ignored” by employees of the funeral home. The suit claims they had “burrowed into holes in his cheek and moth that had not existed previously.”
Tabitha is claiming in the suit that the funeral home did not “adequately prepare, preserve and inspect” her son’s body before the public viewing. They also believe that Snelling did not store the body in a sealed refrigeration environment, and it was thus exposed to elements.
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WAVY asked Sharp how he believes this could have happened. While he says the truth will likely come out at trial, he offered his thoughts. “How this happened,” he said. “They received his body, and they did not properly clean and disinfect his body, and then he went through the embalming process. That was improper.”
When reached for comment by WAVY, Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, Inc./Snellings Funeral Home, Inc. CEO Casey Jones shared the following statement: “The unexpected passing of Torreon Williams is tragic, and we extend our sincere condolences to his family. However, because the events following his death are the subject of ongoing litigation, we do not believe it is appropriate to comment publicly at this time.”
The family’s lawsuit also claims that in some ways, the family feels as if they have lost the Tabitha they knew from before this incident, claiming she now suffers “nightmares, trauma, sleeplessness, flashback, anxiety, depression, nausea, humiliation, embarrassment, grief and horror that is significant and permanently affects all of her activities.”
Tabitha, who is listed as plaintiff, is seeking $5,000,000, as well as costs and fees and all other relief deemed fair. The lawsuit states that she continues to incur expenses related to her ongoing “psychological treatment and care.”
The case is set for Chesapeake Circuit Court’s civil division on July 28 at 8:45 a.m. The court is anticipating a three-day jury trial.
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