Texas mom says son’s body left to ‘literally rot’ by funeral home

A Texas mother is suing a funeral home for $1 million after she claims the facility left her son’s body to “literally rot,” causing an unbearable smell which made loved ones to vomit during the funeral, according to a lawsuit obtained by The Post.

Integrity Funeral Home at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Houston was hired to embalm and bury Edward Silva, 43, after his sudden death in 2021, according to the legal claim filed by his mother, Julieta Guerra.

Silva was scheduled to be embalmed on Feb. 12, but when his mother was finally able to view the body on Feb. 23, she claims it was in a shockingly decomposed state, just hours ahead of his funeral.

“The body was badly deteriorated and smelled rotten,” the lawsuit alleging negligence and deceptive trade reads. “Edward had remained cut open and had not been sewn back up. His chest had a gaping hole, an empty cavity that was not stuffed. He did not seem like he had been embalmed. There was a terrible smell.”

The clothing Silvia was supposed to wear during his wake didn’t fit because of the “extreme post-mortem swelling of the body–” forcing his parents to cut the clothing open so it could be draped over his body.

Silva’s mother was so distraught when she saw her son’s remains, she allegedly collapsed saying, “This is not my son,” according to the filing.

White gloves had to be placed on his hands as bodily fluids were oozing out of the fingers and ears, the lawsuit details.

Silva’s grieving parents were forced to hold a closed casket viewing, instead of an open one, as they had originally planned, due to the smell of decaying flesh. They even went as far as to bring in a heavy-duty odor-repellent used by professional cleaners to mask the odor, but it persisted.

“The smell of decomposition was just so distracting,” the suit said. “Everyone kept covering their noses to help them tolerate the smell, and some guests were retching.”

Guerra’s suit doesn’t explain why the funeral home neglected to enbalm her son, but claims its staff kept delaying her from seeing him.

Silva’s body arrived at the funeral home on Feb. 11 and was supposed to be embalmed the next day. His mother called the funeral home on Feb. 12, asking to see his body and says she was denied access.

The funeral for Silva, whose cause of death is not mentioned, was then pushed back further as a massive winter storm that left most of Texas without power for five days hit.

On Feb. 14, Guerra alleges she drove to the mortuary and realized they had no power and didn’t have a backup generator either, factors she believes contributed to the state of her son’s body — which she was only finally able to see on Feb. 23.

She accuses the funeral home of offering her no apologies for the state of her son and adds she was even asked not to take them to court.

“A few months later, [the funeral home director] made an unsolicited phone call to Julieta saying ‘Please don’t sue the funeral home or they will let people go,’” the lawsuit goes on to allege. The funeral home did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Guerra now suffers from depression and has not been able to work due to constant crying and panic attacks, her lawyer said in the suit. She’s asking the court for $1 million in damages.