Man finally buried after earlier funeral involving wrong body due to state lab mix-up
AUGUSTA, Ga. – A Georgia man whose body was left in a state crime lab after a mix-up has finally been buried in Augusta.
A coroner says the mistake at the state crime lab in Decatur, outside of Atlanta, led the family of Johnny Morgan Lowe III to bury the wrong man during a closed-casket funeral in December.
The Augusta Chronicle quoted Burke County Coroner Susan Salemi as saying the lab didn’t return Lowe’s body after an autopsy. The body of Louie Caldwell of Clayton County was mistakenly returned and buried by relatives who thought they were laying Lowe to rest.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials said the agency planned to retrieve Caldwell’s body and pay for Lowe’s burial.
The newspaper quoted a family member as saying Lowe had been buried Saturday.
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