It was an emotional interview for a couple who went through a traumatic experience in 2014, shortly after welcoming their son into the world. The couple's newborn died shortly after birth, and the funeral home they entrusted with the cremation is accused of dumping the baby's body in a gas station trash bin.
The couple won a big civil lawsuit Thursday against the funeral home after it failed to properly prepare their baby's remains.
"They told me the baby has died. That was just the worst thing they can tell you," Catheryne Lucero expressed. "I found out that they had found the baby at a gas station in a box, our baby,"
"For me, it's shocking. You don't wish that to the worst enemy," Adrian Castro said.
With their baby's untimely and unexpected death came the unthinkable. An employee with Carey Royal Ram'n Mortuary in Liberty City was suppose to retrieve the newborn's remains and prepare it for cremation. But that did not happen.
If it wasn't for a homeless man rummaging through a trash bin for food, baby David's remains would never have been found.
In North Miami Beach at the scene of the crime back in September 2014, Jaren Hood stated the box with the remains was stolen from his vehicle. It was later determined that Hood, the owner of the funeral home's son, was lying. He was arrested, but only charged with resisting arrest.
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A State Probable Cause Panel found he committed negligence, incompetence or misconduct in the transportation of the remains. A jury agreed, awarding the parents $28 million Thursday.
"It's too much to handle. We don't want anybody to have to go through this," Castro expressed.
The verdict was a bittersweet victory for the couple and their lawyer, Neal Hirschfeld, who said it was never about the money.
"With this verdict, we need to send a message to the funeral industry that this kind of behavior that is abhorrent and illegal, should not be tolerated," Hirschfeld said.
NBC 6 reached out to the funeral home for comment, but did not hear back.
