A Southern California family and friends of 82-year-old Darlene Davidson prayed over the body of the wrong woman as they said goodbye and buried the body of someone who was not Davidson.

According to published reports, during a viewing, Davidson’s family told workers at Simpson Family Mortuary in Inglewood that Davidson did not look like Davidson.  The family was told the embalming process likely changed her appearance. 

“This is where our  California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) members who work in the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau of the California Department of Consumer Affairs step in,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.  “This is  a  mix-up that has to be emotionally painful for two families.  Our members have to find out how something like this could happen and who is at fault.”

A funeral and burial for Davidson was held March 1, 2013.  According to reports, Davidson’s husband received a call a couple days later informing him that his wife’s body was still at the mortuary.  The family now has to decide about a second service and burial.