Tragic pals’ ‘cremation mix-up’
IT is “highly probable” the bodies of two Irishmen were wrongly identified in a mix-up – with the wrong one cremated, authorities said.
Kane Mitchell, 32, and 31-yearold Luke Comiskey were found dead at their shared apartment at 3110 Grand Avenue in Pinellas Park, Florida, on April 23, 2022.
Both men were originally from Dublin.
Autopsies were carried out at the District Six Medical Examiner
Office in Florida. The Medical Examiner’s toxicology report found both died from fentanyl overdoses.
It’s understood their families noticed discrepancies in the autopsy reports and the error in the labelling of the men’s bodies was uncovered, according to CNN.
It’s understood Mr Comiskey’s remains were wrongly cremated and Kane Mitchell’s body was buried in the Comiskey family grave in Ireland.
William Pellan, director of
Investigations at the District Six Medical Examiner Office, said it is highly likely the cremated remains, initially believed to be of Kane Mitchell, were those of Luke Comiskey, according to CNN. In a letter dated August 2022, he said: “Our office is very remorseful about the tragedy of this situation. Obviously they have been through a lot of late with the loss of their family member and subsequent misidentification and burial of his remains in Luke Comiskey’s plot.”
James Peoples III, 33, is charged with two counts of murder in the first degree in connection with the deaths of Kane Mitchell and Luke Comiskey. He is accused of selling the fentanyl that caused both men’s deaths.