Funeral Home VP Found Dead with ‘Belt Around His Neck’

A senior executive at a Detroit funeral home has been found dead as the business faces two lawsuits stemming from an extraordinary alleged mix-up involving the remains of two mothers.

Joseph Hutchison Jr., 65, vice president of operations at Hutchison Funeral Home, was found dead on September 24 at a residence in Detroit’s Harbortown area, according to police and a representative for the funeral home.

Detroit police said they do not suspect foul play. The cause and manner of Hutchison’s death are being determined by the Wayne County Medical Examiner.

Authorities have not announced any connection between Hutchison’s death and the controversy surrounding the funeral home.

His death came less than a week after the family of 61-year-old Kimberly Moore accused Hutchison Funeral Home of mistakenly cremating her before her scheduled viewing and then preparing another woman’s body in Moore’s clothing.

The case has since taken another dramatic turn.

Two families have now filed separate lawsuits over the alleged mix-up, and the second woman has been publicly identified as Sandra Miller.

Moore died September 3 following a battle with endometrial cancer. A mother of five and grandmother of 28, she had reportedly made her funeral arrangements before her death in hopes of making the process easier for her children.

Her family planned to hold a viewing before Moore was cremated.

But when Moore’s daughter Bianca Robinson arrived at the funeral home ahead of the September viewing to help prepare her mother, she immediately became suspicious.

Robinson said the woman presented to her was wearing Moore’s clothing and wig, but she did not believe the body was her mother.

One detail particularly alarmed her. Robinson knew her mother had a distinctive mole on her toe, but she said it was missing from the woman she was shown.

“This is not my momma,” Robinson recalled telling funeral home staff.

Moore’s relatives said they were eventually told that their mother may already have been cremated.

The discovery turned what was supposed to be a final goodbye into a frantic search for answers.

Family members gathered outside the East Seven Mile Road funeral home, and Detroit police responded as tensions rose. The funeral home subsequently acknowledged that there was a serious problem and announced an internal investigation.

In a public statement, Hutchison Funeral Home said it was “heartbroken and deeply sorry” for what Moore’s family had experienced and promised to determine exactly what happened.

The funeral home also said Moore’s relatives were offered an urn containing remains believed to be hers. Her family, however, questioned whether the ashes actually belonged to Moore and sought DNA testing before accepting them.

The family’s attorneys now say Moore’s remains have still not been accepted by her children and that testing is expected to be pursued.

Another Family Enters the Case

The mystery surrounding the unidentified woman has also become clearer.

According to lawsuits filed in Wayne County Circuit Court, the woman allegedly presented to Moore’s family was Sandra Miller.

Miller died September 13 after battling ovarian cancer.

Her family says they initially contacted Hutchison Funeral Home after learning about the Moore controversy and were assured that Miller was not involved.

They later came to believe otherwise.

Miller’s daughter, Cessley Walker, said her mother’s body was allegedly dressed and prepared as though she were Kimberly Moore before being presented to Moore’s family.

Miller’s relatives say they were devastated to learn how her remains had allegedly been handled.

The allegations have now resulted in two separate lawsuits filed on behalf of the Moore and Miller families.

The suits name Hutchison Funeral Home, owner Jaimie Hutchison and a cremation company in connection with the handling of the women’s remains.

The complaints accuse the defendants of misconduct including negligence and gross negligence. Moore’s case also includes allegations involving interference with funeral rights, breach of contract and violations of Michigan consumer protection law.

Those allegations have not been proven in court.

An attorney for Hutchison Funeral Home has disputed allegations that employees deliberately attempted to cover up the situation, saying the funeral home believed the woman being presented to Robinson was Moore at the time.

The funeral home says its internal investigation is continuing and that it wants to determine where its identification procedures failed and prevent anything similar from happening again.

Hutchison’s Death Adds Another Tragic Development

Against that backdrop, Hutchison Jr.’s death added another unexpected development to an already complicated case.

Hutchison had worked in the funeral industry for more than three decades and served as vice president of operations for the family business.

He had spoken publicly about the controversy before his death as the funeral home attempted to determine what had happened.

Police said Hutchison was discovered September 24 in the 200 block of Harbortown.

Officials have said there is no indication of foul play, and nothing released by investigators has connected his death to the allegations involving Moore or Miller.

His cause and manner of death remain a matter for the medical examiner.

For both grieving families, meanwhile, the central questions now extend far beyond how the initial mistake allegedly occurred.

Moore’s children say they lost the chance to see their mother one final time before she was cremated. Miller’s family says their mother’s remains were handled without their knowledge in a service intended for someone else.

Both families are now seeking answers through the courts as Hutchison Funeral Home continues its own review.

The lawsuits could also provide a clearer picture of the identification and cremation procedures used in the days before Moore’s planned viewing — and exactly how two families say their mothers became entangled in the same devastating mistake.