Couple given urn full of dirt instead of baby's ashes by Georgia funeral home, attorneys say

ATLANTA — A grieving Georgia family is suing a metro Atlanta funeral home and accusing the business of sending them an urn full of dirt instead of their baby’s ashes.

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Michael Seiden with Action News Jax’s sister station WSB-TV was outside Emory University Hospital in Midtown Tuesday, where Alexus Taylor and Jalen Matthews, of Valdosta, said they spent a month with baby Josiah last October before he died. Josiah was born with Trisomy 18, a rare but fatal genetic disorder that causes a wide range of severe medical problems. He died Nov. 14, 2023.

“We didn’t know how much time we had with him,” Matthew said.

The couple said a family member recommended Stan Henderson & Son Funeral Home in Henry County to handle the baby’s remains.

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“It was very important that I had him cremated. I wanted to be able to bring him home because I always knew that, you know, most likely we (would) never get to bring him there,” Taylor said.

They held a memorial service at the funeral home. They said it took nearly 4 months to get Josiah’s ashes, but then 2 weeks later, they were told the baby’s remains were still at the funeral home.

“Like 2 weeks later, that’s when we got the call and, you know, that Josiah was still at the crematory,” Taylor said.

CLICK HERE to read the full story by WSB-TV.

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