A British mother has said she was “living in a horror movie” after being sent the wrong body when her son died in Cambodia.
Maureen Thompson and Stephen Nightingale from Nottingham were informed by police that their son Kevin had been found dead at his home in the Takeo province following a heart attack in May.
But after making arrangements with Cambodian firm Evergreen Funeral Services to repatriate 39-year-old Kevin, Thompson realised they had sent the wrong body when she went to identify her son.
Authorities had sent a man believed to be a 77-year-old Canadian.
A British mother has said she was “living in a horror movie” after being sent the wrong body when her son died in CambodiaKevin had been working as a teacher in Cambodia when he was found dead on May 3 by a colleague after he did not show up to work for two days.
Investigators believe he had fallen down the stairs while having a heart attack.
His family said that by time the body arrived in the UK it was so badly decomposed he was “almost unrecognisable”.
“I would not like it ever to happen to anyone else,” his mother told the BBC.
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“Kev’s dad raised £7,500 to get him back over here. When we went to view what we thought was my son we just could not believe it was somebody else, it was a Canadian man in his 70s.
“Me and my two sons Sean and Pat – Kev’s brothers – were horrified and traumatised.”
Evergreen Funeral Services has since refunded the family the cost of the repatriation.
Thompson said her son has been a teacher in Cambodia for 10 years.
Maureen Thompson was informed by police that their son Kevin had been found dead at his home in the Takeo province following a heart attack in May
“He loved his job,” she said. “He was known as the handsome teacher out there – they all loved him.
“It has taken us down a dark, deep hole.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed it had supported the family of a British man who died in Cambodia.