'Atrocious' conditions at Clovis funeral lead to lawsuit

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- A family in mourning found no comfort at a Clovis funeral home.

Their lawsuit claims a botched embalming only added to their sorrow.

"When they walked in the room it was immediately a terrible smell, overwhelmingly terrible," said attorney Corina Burchfield.

The overpowering stench got the funeral service off to a bad start and the family says things got worse from there.

Robert Aguilera's death from a lung condition at the age of 31 hit his family hard.

Two weeks later, they expected to start an emotional recovery at the June 2019 memorial service.

"At the service, the situation and conditions were just atrocious," said attorney Martin Taleisnik.

Family members wrote several letters complaining about the experience.

Instead of giving Robert a peaceful goodbye, they say Clovis Funeral Chapel made it extremely uncomfortable to mourn him - so uncomfortable, his 3-year-old son vomited.

"When they got to the casket they said that there were flies, there was baking soda that was sort of spread around his body and open baking soda containers around the casket along with other types of air fresheners," Burchfield said.

Burchfield and Taleisnik filed a lawsuit against the funeral home on behalf of Aguilera's parents, claiming the business negligently handled the body.

They say the body was at Clovis Funeral Chapel for six days and even though it should've been embalmed right away, an employee told the family he embalmed it the same day as the service.

The family filed a complaint with the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau.

Owner Loretta Martin told Action News they didn't do anything wrong.

She said an inspector came to investigate the complaint and did not find any violations.

A spokesperson for the bureau would not confirm whether their investigation was complete, but said their inspectors' findings only get posted publicly when they find violations.

The bureau's website shows no disciplinary action against Martin or her business for at least the last 11 years.

So the Aguileras took another route, hoping a lawsuit can help them put their grief in the past.

"They can never erase what's already happened, obviously," Taleisnik said.

The two sides are scheduled for a case management conference in March.