TOSSED OUT

New Jersey Dad’s Ashes Stolen in Funeral Director’s Unlocked Car: Lawsuit

A lawyer representing the grieving family said he believes the vehicle was stolen by teenagers who are believe to have then dumped the ashes.

The ashes of a dead man were left in an unlocked, running vehicle outside a New Jersey funeral home that was subsequently carjacked, according to a lawsuit filed by the man’s family. When Walter Garcia’s daughter went to go pick up his ashes from the A.K. Macagna Funeral Home last February—just a few days after a funeral service was held for him there—she learned of the theft, according to the complaint. The next day, the funeral home informed Garcia’s family that the car had been recovered, but the ashes were missing. The family’s lawyer, John Nulty, told NJ.com he believes the car, which belonged to the funeral director, was stolen by teenagers. Not knowing what the ashes were, he speculated, they likely dumped them out of a window. “Leaving a running, open luxury vehicle is an invitation for something like this to happen,” Nulty said. “The family feels like they lost their father twice.” The Garcia family is suing the funeral home and its owner for intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, and breach of duty for failure to return the ashes to the family.