Family says funeral home caused two-month delay in laying loved one to rest

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - A family said they waited almost two months to lay a loved one to rest, claiming the holdup was with a funeral home in Alabama.

The family of Koby Marshall said the holdup stemmed from a money issue. They said that between insurance and a burial fund through his employer, that should not have been a problem.

“His body is basically deteriorating, and it’s like we’d rather just like get something done and have him cremated,” said Shalisa McCarter, the mother of Marshall’s child.

Marshall passed away Aug. 25, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that his family and friends were told his body had been sent to a crematory by the funeral home, Faith Memorial Chapel Funeral Services.

“We had the funeral Sept. 9. They told us literally the day before that unless we gave them at least half of the funding, which is $6,000, that they would not perform the service,” McCarter said.

McCarter said Marshall had a burial fund through his employer, but that the funeral home said they had not received the proper information through the company.

“They have been in communication with us the entire time,” McCarter said of Marshall’s employers. “They have even said that they don’t know what the funeral home’s holdup is, we’ve sent them all the information that we can send, we don’t know why they’re holding up the death certificate or holding up the process.”

Even though his family members pulled through with the $6,000 the funeral home asked for the day before, when it came time to bury Marshall, McCarter said the unthinkable happened.

“The funeral home stopped us, and the officiant, which is also my dad, because he had helped us with the $6,000 and said that we weren’t going to have a burial service because we didn’t have all the money,” McCarter said.

Marshall’s body stayed at the home, and his family went to a church where his funeral turned into a celebration of life.

His wife, Jamya Conwell-Marshall, said she chose the home because her family has used it multiple times in the past with no issues. She said the entire situation is inexcusable.

“It shouldn’t take that long for them to bury him at all. Like it’s been going on almost two months, it wasn’t, basically, a funeral. It wasn’t,” Conwell-Marshall said.

Faith Memorial Chapel Funeral Services did not respond to a request for comment.

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