Family: Mortuary Treated Woman's Body Like Dead β€œMeat”

Relatives say funeral home let deceased woman rot before their eyes

The family of a woman who died New Year's Day claims the Miami mortuary where her body was prepared and displayed made some grave mistakes.

Relatives of Deissy Morales Diaz say Maspons Funeral Homes let the elderly woman's body sit around for so long that it began to rot before their eyes, with discoloration on her head and hands and even blood oozing out of her face.

The stench from the body was so bad that some children had to be removed from the viewing.

"They totally disrespected the memory of my mother, they had too many bodies and left her on a bed like a pound of meat to rot in front of us.” said son Alex Diaz. 

The family plans on suing the funeral home.

Annette Maspons, a manager at the funeral home, said every proper protocol was followed during the service.

"We're very concerned...we take this very seriously," Maspons said. "We've been in business more than 60 years and we take great pride in working with families through these difficult times."

Diaz, 72, suffered a fatal heart attack on New Year's Day, and her family says she had already arranged and prepaid her services through Maspons.

By the time Diaz made it to the mortuary, located at 3500 SW 8th Str., attorneys for the Diaz family claim that there were 15 other cadavers awaiting preparation. The family claims they were told by Maspons that even though Diaz died on a Saturday, her viewing couldn't take place until Tuesday and burial wouldn't be until Wednesday.

On the day of the viewing, 200 family members and friends arrived at Maspons, but could notice something was immediately wrong. They noticed a foul odor coming from the casket. When the family went to management to complain, they were told there was no smell.

After a few hours, the smell became nearly unbearable and the body started to decay, with her hands changing color and the skin receding from her cheeks, according to Diaz family lawyer Rey Dorta.

That's when a security guard for the funeral home moved mourners to the side and began spraying a Lysol can above the body to cover the stench. He also doused the decomposing body with air freshener.

The security guard allegedly warned children to stay away from the body because the funeral home "would not be responsible for any damage that may come to them."

Despite the horror show playing out before them, the Diaz family continued with the viewing and continued to watch as the body deteriorated and the smell worsened. The body became horribly disfigured, the family alleges.

They claim her forehead became dark, her eyes began to recede, her hands turned green and that blood began to seep out of her nose.

Dorta said the episode caused severe emotional distress to family, including Diaz's husband of 56 years, Jesus.

Dorta said that six people who were at the funeral also have contracts in place with Maspons for their services, including Jesus Diaz. He says in addition to economic relief for the emotional distress, the lawsuit will seek to have the pending contract reimbursed or transferred.

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