Call for regulation of undertakers after son’s body ‘was opened up’
A MOTHER has launched a campaign to have funeral directors regulated after she claims an undertaker reopened her son’s body after a post-mortem examination to check his remains were “complete”.
Caroline Richards has published a petition to push for industry-wide standards, saying there was currently nothing to govern what a funeral director did, what qualifications they had or how they conducted themselves.
Mrs Richards’ son, Kristian, died on the same day as her dad, James, in September 2019.
She arranged funerals for both of them with Keith Boraston Funeral Directors in Kidderminster.
Mrs Richards, 56, claimed Keith Boraston told her he had to “undo the coroner’s work” because they didn’t “always put the organs back in the right place”.
She alleged the conversation happened before she viewed her son’s body and claimed the undertaker told her he liked to know “the person is complete”.
Mrs Richards said she was left feeling “sick” while she was already grieving.
Mrs Richards claimed: “When I went to view Kristian he told me what he had done to him in graphic detail.
“I was gobsmacked and distraught. After the funeral, I contacted him about it. To him it was normal. I felt he had assaulted my son’s body.”
Last year Mr Boraston said that he discussed the “level of care” given to Kristian’s body with his mother. But he refused to discuss any details after taking legal advice.
Mrs Richards, 56, said: “I would like regulations in place. It’s too late for Kristian and me. But I don’t want this to continue to happen.”
Kristian, a father of three, was just 27 when he was killed in a crash in Stourport Road, Kidderminster, on September 10, 2019.
He was driving to see his grandfather, who had died earlier the same day.
Mrs Richards said: “A dead body has no rights. How they are treated – there are no rules in place. When somebody has passed, the rules should be stronger.”
Mrs Richards called for mandatory regulation with standards of service and rules.
Currently, funeral directors can voluntarily join organisations like the National Association of Funeral Directors, which has a code of practice on how they should operate. But there is no obligation to do so.