PHILADELPHIA, PA — What Abbey and Lawrence Butler thought was a shipment of their late son’s personal belongings turned into a shocking discovery now at the center of a lawsuit against two funeral homes.
The Butlers say the package, sent months after the death of their 56-year-old son, a Marine Corps veteran, Timothy Garlington, began leaking and emitting a foul odor inside their vehicle. The shipment had arrived from Nix & Nix Funeral Home in Philadelphia, which had been working alongside Southern Cremations & Funerals in Marietta, Georgia, where Garlington died on November 15, 2023.
According to legal filings, the Butlers were told the delivery contained their son’s effects. But inside a white box was a red sealed container they couldn’t open. Shortly after placing it in their car, they say, fluids leaked from the package and a strong smell filled the cabin. The couple later learned the box allegedly contained Garlington’s brain.
Now they are suing both funeral homes, accusing them of mishandling remains and causing severe emotional distress.
