Dead man turns up alive at his own funeral in Argentina

A 22-year-old man who had been reported missing during a days-long drinking spree appeared alive at his own funeral in Alderetes, north of Cordoba, Argentina, shocking mourners who believed he had died. Police had been told by his mother that he was dead after another young man was run over by a sugarcane truck, and prosecutors later said the case had been ruled as negligent homicide and subjected to an autopsy.

The man’s mother said she recognized the body by clothing and some facial features, and authorities released the remains to the family, who organized a wake. Yet the survivor stunned attendees by showing up at the ceremony alive and saying he had no idea he was supposed to be dead. He told investigators that he had been on a days-long drinking binge in Alderetes and was completely unaware of the death designation. His arrival prompted confusion among mourners and police about who was actually in the coffin and how the body had been identified at first.

The man was then taken to a police station for questioning while the body was returned to the morgue to confirm its identity. Later, authorities identified the body as Maximiliano Enrique Acosta, 28, from the nearby town of Delfín Gallo. However, relatives say the process had serious missteps: the body handed over to the family initially was not properly identified, and the family was asked to visit the morgue twice. Hernán Acosta, the brother, said: '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.'

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 why the case was not resolved more promptly. The episode already drew attention to the challenges of identity verification and corpse handling in a case marked by confusion and competing authorities.