Two sets of parents are exploring the possibility of legal recourse after their sons’ bodies were mixed up by police.
Davis Brady of Texas and Kyle Betts of Florida were found inside a Jacksonville apartment after they had allegedly died of accidental overdoses.
According to CBS 11 News, a Jacksonville Sheriff incident report contained details of each victim. However, their families say that the entries are either incomplete or outrightly incorrect.
Records show the two men are listed as having the same complexion, build, and hair. However, Betts’ mother said that his complexion was not fair or white, as stated.
According to both families, the clothing descriptions for their sons on the documents prove that their identities got mixed up. The report states that Davis Brady had on a Jaguar hat, and the other did not. However, Kyle Betts’ mother says that he was an avid Jaguar football fan, and she knows he had on his hat.
Autopsy exams carried out on the two bodies timestamped 24 hours after the Log-In Receipt showed that the case numbers for each man were switched. With this finding, authorities were able to correctly match each man to his case number. However, months later, those original case numbers were reversed by toxicology reports again.
The toxicology reports showed that someone had marked on the report, but the number appeared incorrect in the original digital versions of the documents. On paper documentation, the person had crossed out each man’s name and had written the other’s name in the column near the case numbers.
Betts, frustrated that officers had the two mens’ details switched from the beginning, spoke of “disrespect.”
“I mean, it’s just JSO (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office) disrespect from the beginning, and the inconsistency between a transition from JSO to the Medical Examiner’s Officer,” she said.
The mix-up by officers caused a lot of confusion amongst the two families. At the viewing of Davis Brady’s body, the family realized the body they were presented with wasn’t Brady’s. His father said the hair color, beard color, and complexion were not right.
“I looked, and I said, ‘That is not my son,'” Brady said.
Brady’s mom then quickly reached out to Betts’ mom. However, the Betts had requested that their son’s body be cremated. While Sandy Betts contacted the funeral home in an attempt to stop the process, she was told that he had just been cremated.
Betts reached out to the medical examiner’s office, who confirmed the mix-up.
Cremation is against the religious beliefs of the Brady family. “In the Mormon Church… they prepare for burial by embalming,” Stephen Brady explained. However, the ashes of their son were all they could have.
Per CBS 11 News, Steven Brady remains doubtful about the mistakes surrounding the case. He also does not fully believe that the ashes they were sent are his son’s.
The Bradys and the Betts are looking to take legal action against the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Medical Examiners Office District IV in Florida, whom they hold responsible for the mix-up.