Kenneth Glad
The gathering was meant to be a quiet viewing for relatives. Instead, it became a dispute over who had been placed before them.
Relatives of 84-year-old Jose Daniel Diaz Felipe went to R.G. Ortiz Funeral Home in Washington Heights for his wake.
His children had come to say goodbye at the viewing. But Jose Luis Diaz said the body in the casket was not his father.
“We open the coffin and find another man. And they were trying for hours to convince us he was our father,” he told NBC News 4 New York.
Jose Luis Diaz said his father was bald and 5-foot-3. The man in the coffin had hair and was taller.
The explanation raised more concern
According to News 4 New York, the family asked the funeral home where Diaz Felipe’s remains were.
Jose Luis Diaz said that the relatives were told that another person with a similar name had come through the funeral home that week. The answer did not resolve their concern.
Clear identification is central to funeral care. When a family questions whether the right remains were handled, the damage is not only administrative. It affects the final act of mourning.
The company has faced previous complaints
The case has also brought renewed attention to earlier claims involving R.G. Ortiz Funeral Homes.
The outlet reported that New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection sued the company after nearly 50 complaints involving remains and pricing practices.
The company agreed in 2024 to pay $600,000 to consumers and $100,000 in civil penalties.
The family questions the ashes
Jose Luis Diaz said the funeral home later told the relatives that his father had been cremated and that the remains were at the company’s main Bronx office.
“They say that they cremated him, but we don’t know for sure if that is our father,” he said.
The family is considering legal action. News 4 New York contacted the funeral home but did not receive a response.
Source: NBC News 4 New York
