Photo:WKYT
WKYT
AKentuckycoroner who is accused of having left the body of a dead man to decompose in a hot car overnight is facing a lawsuit, along with several other county officials.
Vancleave, who has since resigned as Morgan County coroner, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The complaint also named former Judge-Executive John Stacy, and county fiscal court magistrates Brandon Evans, Carter Bolin, Donnie Keaton, Darrell Patrick and Leroy Phipps, claiming they should have been aware of the coroner’s past negligent behavior.
Nathan’s body “rapidly decomposed,” per the court documents.
The former Morgan County Coroner in Kentucky is being sued for allowing a corpse to decompose in his SUV overnight.CWKYT
CWKYT
The lawsuit alleges Vancleave had previously had his access revoked to the morgue, freezer and cooling systems at local hospitals due to his alleged past failure to retrieve bodies in a timely fashion, which county officials were allegedly aware of.
The court documents claim thatstate medical examinerSarah Maines noted that the body was “moderately decomposed.”
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The funeral of Nathan, which took place on Jan. 6, had to be conducted with a closed casket because the level of advanced decomposition meant the body could not be embalmed, according to the court documents, which also claim that multiple visitors to the funeral home “vomited and became ill because of the foul and pungent odor coming from Mr. Peyton’s coffin.”
“When they buried him, he had to remain in the body bag. Closed casket,” Basill told WKYT. “People actually got sick from the odor that was emanating from the casket."
The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of damages for Basill, who says he has “sustained and endured great and severe mental and physical pain and suffering.”
A lawyer for Vancleave did not immediately reply to PEOPLE’S request for comment.
source: people.com
