CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WKRC) - A mother filed a lawsuit against a funeral home after her family attended her son's viewing only to find him "covered with and consumed by clumps of maggots," per the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit filed by Tabitha Worrell, her 24-year-old son died in a car accident on May 2 of 2022, and the family gave $3,000 to Snelling Funeral Home as a down payment for their son's funeral. The viewing and funeral was held one week later.
"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 said.
"The maggots had been on and in Torreon Williams' body for a significant period of time and had been purposely ignored on the day of Torreon Williams' service as, in addition to the aforementioned, the maggots had burrowed into holes in his cheek and mouth that had not existed previously," the document continued.
Furthermore, as Worrell began to react with "shock and horror" at the image of her son, one of the employees reportedly put his hands on her and said, "Don't you make a scene." Another employee brushed off responsibility, saying that "flies got to him."
Worrell filed the lawsuit on the grounds that the funeral home failed to perform funeral services "in a professional or sanitary manner," which in addition to causing monetary loss due to the expense of the funeral, also caused "severe emotional distress, heartache, mental turmoil, and anxiety."
The lawsuit claimed that Worrell believed the funeral home did not store her son in a sealed refrigerator and did not take any care to prepare the body on the day of the viewing and funeral.
Kevin Sharp, Worrell's attorney, told local outlet WAVY that the scene was "a grotesque freak show." He further commented on the employee's reaction to the situation.
"They almost seemed to say, 'You don't overreact here. You're the one to blame,' not what they had done to her son," Sharp said.
Casey Jones, the CEO of Snelling Funeral Home, said that Williams' death was tragic but that he did not have any statement about the funeral due to the ongoing litigation.
