Alive at his own funeral shocks mourners in Argentina as investigation opens
Mourning turns to confusion after a man shows up at his own wake; authorities say a misidentified body and autopsy are under review.
A man who had been reported dead by his mother after a days-long drinking binge appeared at his own funeral in Alderetes, north of Córdoba, Argentina, shouting that he was alive. The 22-year-old had been missing since a weekend of heavy drinking, and police had been told by his mother that another young man had been killed after a sugarcane truck struck him. Although investigators initially suspected suicide, prosecutors classified the case as negligent homicide and ordered an autopsy on the body. The mother said she recognized the body by the clothing and some physical features, and authorities released the remains to the family, who organized a wake.
The stunned mourners then watched as the supposed deceased turned up at the ceremony alive, prompting questions about who was actually in the coffin. The man said he had been on a days-long drinking binge in Alderetes and was completely unaware that authorities had presumed him dead. He was taken to the police station to be interviewed while the body that had been prepared for the wake was sent back to the morgue to verify its identity.
The body was later identified as Maximiliano Enrique Acosta, 28, from the nearby town of Delfín Gallo. But the sequence of events exposed serious handling errors: authorities briefly handed over the body to the family without proper identification and later made the family return to the morgue twice, according to Acosta’s brother Hernán. "Everything was wrong from the beginning. First, they handed over the body without proper identification. Then they made me go to the morgue twice. We shouldn't have to go through this after everything we suffered." he said.
Mr. Acosta’s body was eventually returned to his family, and a funeral was held in his hometown on Tuesday. The Argentine Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an internal investigation to determine how the errors occurred and to ensure proper identification and handling of remains in future cases.