Detroit family wants answers after mother's casket found in alley with dog skull, no body

She was buried 19 years ago

DETROIT – A discovery on Detroit's west side has sparked a police investigation.

A photo of a casket left in an alley was posted on social media. Not long after the post was made, relatives of the name on the casket arrived and were shocked to find out what was inside -- and what else was nearby.

A house on Rosemont Avenue was being renovated, and because of that, a few caskets were stacked on top of each other. One was found in an alley with a woman's name on it.

The woman is Dorothy Feagin, the mother of seven children. Faegin died in 2000 and was buried in Gethsemane Cemetery on the east side of Detroit. Swanson funeral home handled the arrangements.

"Soon as we found out about this, we came straight here," Lawrence Feagin said.

Police did not find Feagin's remains inside, but they say other remains were found. Police said they are likely dog bones, but the Medical Examiner's Office will make the final determination.

"How did dog remains get in my mom's casket. And where is her body? When she was buried 19 years ago," Feagin said.

A search of public records revealed a man who lived there died in August 2017 and had a license in mortuary science.

"No family member deserves to have a casket with their name on it in the alley," Lori Battle said.

The family hasn't reached the funeral home yet but doesn't suspect anything sinister. There was a second casket because the original one was too small, so the funeral home got another one for their mom.

How one of them may have ended up at the house as well as two others with animal remains inside is what police said they'll be looking into.


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