Funeral home insists ‘wrong body’ taken to church was collected from infirmary

Doyley’s Funeral Services says the body at the centre of Sunday’s chaotic funeral mix-up in Westmoreland is the same one its workers collected from the infirmary weeks ago.

The funeral home broke its silence Wednesday following dramatic scenes at the funeral for Roy Williams at the Westmoreland Seventh-day Adventist Church, where relatives accused the company of bringing the wrong body for the service.

The incident sparked confusion and outrage inside the church and has since triggered a police investigation.

In a statement, Doyley’s Funeral Services defended its handling of the body and stood firmly behind its staff and procedures.

“At the same time, we are mindful of the grief felt by families and express heartfelt sympathies for the loss. We have communicated with the family and will offer any necessary further support they might wish from us,” the company stated.

According to the funeral home, two employees collected Williams’ body from the Westmoreland Infirmary on March 21 after he was pronounced dead by a doctor at 11:11 p.m.

The company said the identification tag bearing the deceased man’s name was attached to the body when it was picked up and remained there upon arrival at the funeral home.

Doyley’s also insisted that all standard identification and storage procedures were followed after the body was received.

“The body that was prepared by Doyley’s Funeral Services for the May 17, 2026 funeral was the same one that was identified to us by the infirmary by way of identifying tag on March 21, 2026,” the company maintained.

It further revealed that the body was returned to the funeral home after Sunday’s disrupted service, and the employees who originally collected it confirmed it was the same body.

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