Wrong Body Cremation: Justice Served

0:00It's April 17th. You're listening to California News today, AI-powered local news. A wild mix of back in March 2020 left Selena Gonzalez bearing the wrong body. Her 47-year-old husband, Jose González Jr., died in a Fort Worth hospital, but his remains got swapped with another guy at the Terrand, county medical examiner's office. That wrong body ended up at a Chula Vista funeral home, community mortuary, for an open casket service, while Jose's real body was donated to a medical school and cremated against his explicit wishes. The confusion started when ID tags got crossed between Jose and a main name, Jesse González, who had the same last name, but different spelling. Jesse's family okayed donation, so Jose's body went there instead, sitting for three weeks before getting cremated. Meanwhile, the mislabeled body arrived in California, got embalmed, and was shown at the funeral without anyone catching the air. Selena knew something was off right away, no tattoos on the body, unlike her husband.

1:03She sued the mortuary for negligence and breach of contract, but a San Diego jury in 2024 sided with them, saying the cremation made, fulfilling the contract impossible. Selena's been haunted by it, blaming herself for not pushing harder to verify. Last week, though, the fourth District Court of Appeals flipped that verdict. They ruled the trial judge should have decided the impossibility defense, not the jury. Now the case heads back to Superior Court for another round. Attorneys are staying quiet on next steps, but Selena's lawyer is optimistic. She settles suits in Texas against other handlers, and finally got her husband's remains home two years later for proper burial in San Diego. This is my still drop that beat.