The Tuesday edition of The New York Times contains a gut-wrenching story from the Bronx. Last month, Katrina DeJesus was on her way to visit her baby son’s grave 12 years after signing it over to the city for burial. However, she got a horrifying surprise–there was no record that her son had ever been buried. Now DeJesus has filed a $5 million lawsuit against several city agencies, alleging that they trampled on her right to give her son a proper burial.
DeJesus gave birth to Anthony on October 23, 2003. However, he only lived for a little more than 90 minutes because of congenital lung and kidney problems. Per standard practice, the hospital gave DeJesus one week to claim Anthony’s body. When caseworkers at her local public assistance office refused to help her get the money she needed for a funeral, her only option was to sign Anthony’s body over to the city.
She was told that Anthony would be laid to rest at the municipal potter’s field on Hart Island. For years, loved ones were, with rare exceptions, barred from visiting the island. The New York City Corrections Department controls the island; it uses inmate labor for burials, and was reluctant to allow visitors for safety reasons. However, in January 2015, the city reached a class-action settlement that allows monthly ferry visits to the island.
When DeJesus learned about this settlement, she wasted little time signing up for the March trip. While she and her three surviving kids were sitting on the ferry, Captain Martin Thompson, who runs the island for the Corrections Department, took her aside and dropped a bombshell–“I’m very sorry to tell you that we have no record of your son.” He immediately ordered a records search for every possible permutation of Anthony’s name, as well as for “baby boy DeJesus.” No luck.
Eventually, DeJesus discovered that Anthony’s body had been checked into the Bronx morgue. However, there was no record of it being checked back out for transport to Hart Island–meaning that somewhere down the line, little Anthony’s body simply disappeared. When it was apparent she wouldn’t get any answers, DeJesus got in touch with attorney Daniel Flanzig, who filed a formal notice of claim against the city last week.
DeJesus’ lawsuit contends that the city’s chief medical examiner, the Bronx medical examiner, the city’s municipal health care system, and the Corrections Department trampled on DeJesus’ sepulcher rights–the ancient right to give your loved ones a proper burial. Flanzig told The Times that courts don’t look very kindly on those who deny survivors a chance to find “solace and comfort” in such a time.
Incredibly, a commenter on The Times’ Website suggested that this was merely a “bureaucratic mix-up.” Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! This was a breach of basic standards of decency. Unless the city has a very good explanation for what happened to Anthony’s body–and I doubt there is one–it doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Hopefully, the city is in settlement talks. After all, there is virtually no way this lawsuit will end well for the city if it goes to trial.
