Thread: Cutting Corners . . . or legs.

Well, the long and the short of it is that the wife accepted payment to not pursue the matter, which is quite sad. Now she has no leg to stand on, legally

Funeral employee cuts legs off body which did not fit in coffin

June 3, 2009 - 1:48PM
US authorities have revoked the licences of a funeral home and its director after he admitted one of his employees cut the legs of a six-foot-seven man without the family's permission so the corpse would fit in a casket.
The state Board of Funeral Service voted unanimously on Monday to close Cave Funeral Home in Allendale, South Carolina.



In an agreement with the board, funeral director Michael Cave said employees did not tell James Hines's family that his body might not fit in a standard casket. An unlicensed worker, Charles Cave, cut the legs with an electric saw without consulting relatives. Mr Hines's widow, Ann, said his legs had been cut off between the ankle and calf and put in the coffin, but the document did not detail exactly what happened.


Evidence has also been turned over to criminal investigators. Under South Carolina law, destroying or desecrating human remains is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.


Mr Hines, 60, died in October 2004 of skin cancer, and his family picked out a standard-sized casket at the funeral home. Mrs Hines said her husband's body was shown from the chest up at his funeral. And no one suggested a longer casket.
Mrs Hines said rumours about what happened to her husband's body started spreading soon after he was buried.



Mr Hines, an albino black man with several modest hits in the 1970s as a soul and funk guitarist with J. Hines and the Boys, was well known in the town of 3700 people. He became a preacher later in his life, playing his guitar during services at the church he built and on a nearby Christian radio station until his death.
The widow threatened to sue Cave Funeral Home and the business agreed to settle out of court as long as she did not tell anyone how much she received. Mrs Hines said workers never told her what happened or apologised.
Authorities eventually caught wind of the rumour, leading a funeral service board investigator and county coroner to exhume the body.


Mrs Hines did not return a phone message from The Associated Press on Tuesday, but she said last month the attention brought by the case made it seem as if her husband had died all over again.


"It's been overwhelming," she said. "I've gotten lots of calls of support, but I've also heard from people who said I should have just let this go."
The board also fined Cave $500 and ordered him to pay $1500 for the investigation.

Funeral employee cuts legs off body which did not fit in coffin

Silly thing to do really

Now I suppose he will ass about for ever more

He had no feet in this photo too!!!



Rock on Hines! RIP.

Originally Posted by panama hat

Under South Carolina law, destroying or desecrating human remains is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Does that mean cremation is punishable by 10 years inside?

^ being logical in south carolina will get you burned at the stake as a witch.

[quote=panama hat;1073298]Well, the long and the short of it is that the wife accepted payment to not pursue the matter, which is quite sad. Now she has no leg to stand on, legally
[quote]

^ Thanks, larvidchr . . . I was hoping this story would have some legs and not be cut short