I know Halloween is coming earlier and earlier, but an open casket at the park with an actual dead woman in it? That's taking it a little far.
Social media speculation ran wild when this picture of a man sitting at a picnic table next to an open casket with a body began to circulate:
Police in Warren, Michigan, were called in this week to investigate what exactly was going on at Butcher Park.
(What an unfortunate name.)
It turns out the the woman in the coffin was 97-year-old Madonna Stiller, and the man at the picnic table was a funeral director, who had set up a viewing for the family who all lived nearby.
Stiller's son said,
'We just wanted to honor my mother,' said Stiller, a Chesterfield Township resident who grew up in Warren. 'We didn't mean to cause any problems and didn't mean for it to be in the newspaper.'
An obituary notice said Mrs. Stiller 'spent countless hours gardening, both flowers and vegetables — and loads of rhubarb. She loved canning tomatoes and cucumbers, as well as making jams, jellies, and rhubarb sauce. Madonna also took great pleasure in cooking and baking.'
Unfortunately, no one contacted the city authorities to let them know their plans.
So, the police had to get involved to investigate whether there was any foul play involved with a dead body at the park.
In the end, they ruled it a funeral and let it go.
Detective Carla Rexford said,
There are not going to be any charges; the family was just trying to pay their respects, but just to prevent any further issues and make sure everything was done properly, we do request that city hall or police is contacted.
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