A West Philly funeral home warned a family of their deceased loved one’s autopsy scar. After burial, they learned that there was no autopsy.

When Kim Massey arrived at West Philadelphia’s Terry Funeral Home in May to view her brother’s body, she received disturbing news.

While Massey was waiting with her mother to say their goodbyes, the funeral home owner, Gregory Burrell, allegedly told the grieving family members that an autopsy had been performed.

“It was shocking,” Massey said. “I immediately asked the question, ‘Why? Why was he autopsied?’”

Darryl Bonner, 59, died on May 23 following two massive strokes while in Maryland. Hospital physicians did not suspect foul play, and the family did not consent to an autopsy.

So Bonner’s family proceeded with the funeral the following day without viewing Bonner’s reportedly scarred body. They wanted to remember Bonner as the “loving, caring, very giving, bubbly person” that he was, Massey said. It was a private service, and the family said their goodbyes.

But after the service, while discussing paperwork, the funeral home employee who is in charge of dressing the deceased told family members that Bonner had significant scars.

“I’m the one who sewed him up. I do it all the time,” the employee allegedly said to Bonner’s family.

All of this didn’t sit right with Massey, who began making phone calls. She wanted to know why her brother was autopsied, and why no one told the family. She learned from a Maryland medical examiner that Bonner’s death certificate explicitly stated that no autopsy had been performed.

For Massey and her family, there is a troubling outstanding question: If an autopsy wasn’t performed, but the body in Bonner’s casket had autopsy scars, how can they be sure that it was Bonner who was lowered into the grave?

“It’s devastating to think about,” Massey said. “We question, ‘Is it him? Is it not?’ There is no closure at all.”

Massey contacted Burrell, the funeral home owner, to share the information she learned. In text messages, he said his employee “told me the body was autopsied based on the autopsy bag. If we made that assumption wrongly, I am sorry,” court records show.

“I’m willing to compensate your family for this error,” he added.

But the family is still in search of more answers. They sued Terry Funeral Home in Common Pleas Court on Oct. 25. They hope that in the process they can confirm that it is Bonner who is buried in that plot.

The family attempted to get answers from the funeral home before taking formal legal action, said Anton Kaminsky, founder of Kaminsky Law and the attorney who filed the lawsuit. But no one responded to the letter, he said.

In a brief interview, Burrell said the incident was “unfortunate” and a “mistake” but would not comment further because of the ongoing litigation.

One way to confirm whether it was indeed Bonner in the casket would be to exhume the grave. But Kaminsky hopes that such a drastic action can be avoided, and that documents recovered through the legal process can provide the family a sense of certainty.

“[Exhuming] can give you PTSD,” he said.

As the legal process plays out, Massey continues to grieve. She has restless nights imagining her brother’s scarred face, as the funeral home described.

“It makes it really hard to move forward, the uncertainty of what happened to him and if it’s really him,” Massey said. “We trusted the funeral home to take care of Darryl with care and respect, and the funeral home violated our trust.”