Lax funeral rules allow poor care, advocate claims after daughter's remains mishandled

Lax regulations in the funeral industry are making it too easy for businesses to operate without adequate standards, claims funeral director advocate Kerry Collard. Her concerns stem from the alleged mistreatment of her daughter Jessica Collard Horan's remains by a regional funeral service provider.

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Everybody that I've gone to wouldn't help. There was nothing I could do.

Collard Horan, 39, died in a car accident in Western Australia, leaving behind four children. After her daughter's death, Collard sought the services of a local funeral director. She alleges that the provider failed to provide acceptable care for her daughter's body, which had been held by the coroner for 11 days before coming into the funeral service's possession.

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Her hair was really important to me, because I said to them her hair was her pride and joy.

Despite multiple requests over six days for a family viewing and to dress her daughter's body, Collard claims her requests were denied due to the condition of the remains. When the family eventually viewed the body, Collard was shocked by what she described as untreated wounds, debris in her daughter's hair, and the body being left in a coronial bag inside the coffin. A subsequent condition report from a second funeral provider, which Collard then engaged, described the hair as "heavily matted" with glass, sticks, dirt, and ants, and noted the body was generally covered in blood with an open mouth and untreated nose.

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I didn't recognise her.

The initial funeral director stated that the family viewed the body before preparation was complete, which was contrary to their staff's recommendation. Collard, however, decided to cancel their services and transfer her daughter's burial to another provider, citing observations that indicated "no meaningful preparation, cleaning or restorative work had been undertaken." Collard expressed her distress, stating, "I didn't recognise her." She feels her daughter was not treated with dignity and has encountered resistance from authorities when trying to file a complaint.

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The circumstances of Jessica's passing were complex, and our team dedicated considerable time, skill and care to her preparation.