Family Demands Funeral Home Open Lower Half of Dead Teen's Coffin - Grieving Parents Left Shocked and Disgusted
Almost four years after a Tennessee teen died, a battle still rages over how a funeral home treated his remains.
The website Anglican Watch has filed a complaint with the Park Lawn Corporation alleging improprieties with the Williamson Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services, which handled the burial of teen Grant Solomon in July 2020. Park Lawn bought the funeral home in 2021.
Anglican Watch alleged that Solomon’s ankles were broken and that clothing belonging to Solomon that should have been given to his family was destroyed, as well as complaining about the manner in which then-owner Pam Stephens conducted herself.
Angie Solomon, the teen’s mother, said that at the time of a 2020 private family viewing, she asked for the lower portion of her son’s casket to be opened, according to the U.K’s Daily Mail.
She said she “almost fainted” at what she saw.
The Mail report noted that the teen’s ankles were not injured in the accident that caused his death. Eric Bonetti, editor of Anglican Watch, said in a complaint at the time that Stephens and a funeral home worker “knowingly broke Grant’s ankles to fit him into an undersized casket when preparing him for casketing.”
“They told family members that they did this to fit Grant into his casket, which makes zero sense, as he was 6’4” and a standard casket size accommodates remains up to 6’5″. I further believe this conduct was not authorized by the family and thus constitutes abuse of corpse under Tennessee law,” the complaint said.
“Moreover, Pam destroyed various personal effects belonging to the decedent without authorization,” the complaint said.
REVEALED: Teen baseball star Grant Solomon, 18, who died mysteriously ‘had his ANKLES BROKEN and clothes discarded by funeral home without authorization’ as his family prepares to sue the mortuary service https://t.co/VgZRkuUzPZ pic.twitter.com/R3fgEZHEHs
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 14, 2024
The complaint went to the Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, part of the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance.
In December 2023, the board gave the funeral home a warning about the clothing but did not touch on the issue of the teen’s ankles. Solomon’s family was told there was no further governmental recourse.
The Mail reported that Stephens is the president of the board of the Tennessee Department of Funerals and Embalmers.
A representative of the funeral home contested the allegations.
“We are aware of Anglican Watch and Ms. Angie Solomon’s repeated and continued patently false allegations about Williamson Memorial’s handling of her son, Grant Solomon’s funeral services,” the representative said.
“These allegations are intentionally defamatory, especially following closure of the Complaint with the Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, and are an insult to Williamson Memorial and its staff,” the representative said.
Angie Solomon said she is seeking legal counsel on the issue.
The teen’s death remains a concern for Angie Solomon and her daughter, Gracie, who are pointing fingers at Aaron Solomon, Grant’s father, according to the Williamson Herald.
No proof of any foul play has been found. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the local district attorney’s office looked into the incident but did not find a reason to move forward with an investigation.
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