Family sues for 'brain-in-bag' funeral blunder

A family in New Mexico are suing a funeral home after their grandmother's brain was sent to them in a bag of her personal belongings.

SANTA FE, January 6, 2010 (AFP) - A family in New Mexico are suing a funeral home after their grandmother's brain was sent to them in a bag of personal belongings following the woman's death, it was reported Wednesday.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that the grisly discovery was made after family members noticed a "foul odor" coming from a bag sent to them by the DeVargas Funeral Home and Crematory in Espanola Valley.

The allegation was contained in a lawsuit filed on behalf of four family members in a District Court in Albuquerque, the paper reported.

According to the report, the bag had been left inside a family member's truck overnight. When family members opened it they found personal effects and a bag labeled with her name reading "brain," the lawsuit alleged.

"Wouldn't you agree that it was a horrible mistake?" Albuquerque attorney Richard Valle told the paper. "No loved one's brain should ever be part of those belongings."

The brain has since been buried with the woman's body.

Funeral home owner Johnny DeVargas insisted his business was not to blame, pointing the finger at another entity in Utah.

"All I can say is DeVargas did absolutely nothing wrong and that the family was well cared for," he was quoted by the paper as saying.

"The family was very meticulously cared for and they were very pleased with our service."

The woman, who was identified only by her initials in the lawsuit, was killed in a car accident in Utah in September.