AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – A coroner says a mix-up at the state crime lab led an Augusta area family to bury the wrong body during a closed-casket funeral.
Burke County Coroner Susan Salemi says the body of Johnny Morgan Lowe III was never returned after an autopsy.
Instead, Salemi says, another body – Louie Caldwell of Clayton County – was mistakenly buried during the December graveside service for Lowe.
The Augusta Chronicle reports that officials confirmed the mix-up Wednesday.
Salemi tells the newspaper she was notified of the mistake Feb. 10, when she received a phone call from Georgia Bureau of Investigation Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kris Sperry. Salemi says Lowe’s body remains at the GBI lab.