In 2001, the body of a 6-month-old girl who was to be buried with her beloved rattle toy was purportedly lost by a Georgia funeral home. The child’s parents, who were unaware until last year when they attempted to exhume her for cremation, are now suing the owners, alleging that they provided dirt from the grave site in lieu of their daughter’s missing bones.
According to Kamaron Hickman and Fatima Nettles’ complaint, which was submitted to Richmond County on November 15, such heinous behavior is against applicable rules and regulations as well as fundamental human dignity and decency.
According to the ex-couple, their daughter’s bones were disrespectfully and inhumanely destroyed shortly after her 2001 funeral. While the two were serving with the U.S. Army in Germany, the baby, Jada Kai Hickman, passed away. The Williams Funeral Home in Augusta, Georgia, which is run by SCI Shared Resources, flew her back to the United States and buried her at Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery. Hickman and Nettles believed that the remains would be positioned in the center of two plots they had bought for themselves.
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The complaint notes that Hickman and Nettles are now divorced and reside in different states. Years later, the plaintiffs made the decision to exhume and cremate Jada’s remains and divide her ashes into two urns or other suitable vessels (one for each Plaintiff) so that their daughter would always be near them, no matter where they lived.
It also states that even while the plaintiffs kept going to Jada’s burial on a regular basis after they moved, the distance prevented them from doing so as often as they would have liked. The plaintiffs started preparing to permit the exhumation and cremation of their daughter’s bones in or around August 2023. Plaintiffs first faced opposition from Defendants, who dissuaded them from excavating the bones. But in the end, the plaintiffs were able to secure the required authorization after reaching out to and receiving support from the Office of the Mayor of the City of Augusta, Georgia.
Clifton Atwood, the general manager of the cemetery, is said to have called Hickman and Nettles to inform them of the sad news once the exhumation started. According to the lawsuit, [Atwood] told them that they had been searching for something at Jada’s cemetery all morning and that they would stop for the day, but that the next day they would try to dig at the other two grave places the Plaintiffs had bought.
When Jada was laid to rest in her metal casket in 2001, her parents claim that she was dressed and had shoes on. However, Atwood claimed that despite searching the other two grave places, he was unable to find anything.
As his remedy, Atwood provided Plaintiff Nettles with some earth from the grave area in lieu of the cremated remains that the Plaintiffs had requested in the lawsuit. According to the paper, Nettles stated that they would want to know the location of their daughter’s remains rather than dirt.
Hickman and Nettles said a representative later contacted on behalf of Hillcrest Memorial Park and provided an additional explanation.
They claimed that everything might have returned to the earth.
Given the nature of human decomposition and the fact that she was buried among metal objects, including a metal casket, Hickman and Nettles’ attorneys point out that this is unlikely. Nevertheless, the funeral home maintained that they had done nothing wrong and attributed Jada’s absence to time.
As we discussed with you, we apologize that, due to the passage of time, we were unable to recover the remains of your daughter, they allegedly said in an email, per the parents complaint.
Hickman and Nettles believe their daughter was subjected to unlawful and improper practices by Hillcrest s operators.
As a direct and proximate result of Defendants negligence and carelessness, Plaintiffs have suffered, and will continue to suffer, severe mental injuries and emotional distress that no reasonable person could be expected to endure or adequately cope with, the complaint concludes.
Jada s story went viral on social media earlier this year after Hickman made posts and videos about it onFacebook, which have been viewed over 1.5 million times. What was supposed to be a positive experience has turned into an absolute nightmare, he wrote in a Jan. 3 post, per theAugusta Press. I don t remember a lot from that day but I do know she was buried in a white casket, little white shoes, a white dress, a headband and her favorite rattle toy.
Hickman and Nettles are suing for a number of reasons, including the following: fraud, negligence, mishandling a corpse, breach of fiduciary or special duty, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and unjust enrichment. Their lawyers are seeking equitable relief and damages for the pain that s allegedly been caused.
Williams Funeral Home and the other named defendants did not respond to Law&Crime s requests for comment on Thursday, with one worker saying the general manager in charge was unreachable at the moment. The operators have sent out a statement to local media outlets, claiming they were unable to discuss this matter with media and were in contact with Hickman and Nettles.
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