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Topics: World News, UK News, Weird, Parenting
Olivia Burke
The parents of a Brit teacher who passed away while working abroad have told of their horror and heartbreak after they were mistakenly sent the body of a 77-year-old man.
Maureen Thompson and Stephen Nightingale said they have been 'living in a horror movie' for the last few months due to the mortifying mix-up after the death of their son Kevin.
The couple explained that the 39-year-old, who had been working as a teacher in Cambodia, was found dead in his home on 3 May by a colleague after he did not show up to work for two days.
Authorities in the Southeast Asian country reportedly told them that Kevin had passed away after falling down the stairs while he was suffering from a suspected heart attack.
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The grieving parents, who live in Nottingham, then began the gruelling task of repatriating their son's body back to the UK and had to raise £7,500 to get him home.
Maureen and Stephen explained they had enlisted the Cambodia-based company Evergreen Funeral Services & Repatriation—which is on a list of international undertakers on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) website—to help them.
However, they claim the firm instead 'prolonged their heartache and worry'.
The mum told how she was informed that Kevin's body had arrived at the Nottingham funeral director's, L.J. Crawley, on 11 June and that she headed down to see him with her other son, Sean.
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But the pair said they simply 'couldn't believe what their eyes were seeing' when they walked into the room to reportedly find a man who was almost double Kevin's age.
"I thought, ‘My God’," Maureen said. "The shock and horror. Our minds were everywhere, it was pure panic stations, it was absolutely horrendous."
Dad Stephen recalled how he received a shocking phone call from his son Sean to explain what had happened.
The 63-year-old said: "He [Sean] said ‘it’s not Kevin’. And I said ‘you’re kidding me aren’t you?’ I felt sick to my stomach. "Everyone’s thoughts went to, ‘I hope they’ve not cremated him’."
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It is believed that the repatriation service erroneously sent the body of a 77-year-old Canadian man to the family instead of Kevin's - and by the time he was eventually brought home to his family, he was 'almost unrecognisable'.
Maureen explained that they had to seal his body inside the coffin as soon as it was released by the coroner due to it 'contaminating' the funeral director's mortuary due to the level of decomposition which had already taken place.
"I will never forget it, it was in such a bad way," the devastated mum added.
Kevin's parents, who compared the last few months to a 'horrifying nightmare', were refunded the repatriation costs by Evergreen, but it has provided little comfort to the family, who want someone to take accountability.
Maureen added: "How the hell did they get it mixed up? It beggars belief. I’ve never known anything like it in my life."
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Stephen added: "We just want someone to hold the can for this. The mistakes made over there must have been horrendous to confuse a 39-year-old with a guy over 70. It’s incomprehensible.
"Surely there’s custom checks and double-checks and triple-checks they have to do?"
Kevin's family are still awaiting the results of swabs taken during a post-mortem in the UK, which they were informed could take up to 18 weeks.
The late teacher, who had been living and teaching in Cambodia's Takéo province for around 10 years, was buried next to his grandma on July 25.
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The Foreign Office confirmed it had assisted the family of a British man who had died in Cambodia.
A spokesman for Evergreen told The Telegraph that Kevin’s body 'could not be shipped without all of the correct documentation and clearances from relevant authorities', adding that his body was embalmed and cleared by customs.
LADbible has contacted Evergreen Funeral Services for further comment.