Family traumatised after shocking burial blunder
A South Australian family have been left traumatised after the funeral of a much-loved mother was ruined by an unimaginable mistake.
As Debby Giles was being lowered into the ground, her coffin was forced open as the grave was dug 20 centimetres too short.
As her family was gathered around the burial site at the time of the blunder, the devastating issue caused Debby's mourning partner Kevin Bartsch to faint.
“The lid lifted up a little bit because it scraped on the side of the wall,” Ms Giles’ son Nathaniel Mark told 7News.
“The coffin wouldn’t fit in the hole. It was stuck... like a quarter of a way,” Mr Bartsch said.
Mr Bartsch was throwing petals onto his late-partner’s coffin, which was tilted diagonally, when he passed out.
“They rolled straight off the coffin and then… I don’t know what happened after that,” Mr Bartsch said.
The funeral director, who was present at the service, then allegedly began trying to force the coffin into the ground by pushing it down with her hands.
“She was on the other side just trying to push it in,” Mr Bartsch said.
Mr Bartsch says “it’s going to take a long time” before the image of that moment ceases to haunt him.
Those at the burial site were then asked to leave so the coffin could be removed from its awkward position and the gravesite size corrected.
Debby's body was then buried without her loved ones present, with the grieving family saying the cultural significance of physically witnessing Ms Giles’ burial on their land was something that was taken from them.
The funeral home blamed the local council for the mistake, with the Mid-Murray Council admitting fault and offering the family compensation.
However, the family say no money could offer them a proper chance to say goodbye.
Image credits: 7News footage