Woman, 20, declared dead and taken to funeral home – only to be found breathing hours later

A 20 year-old woman was declared dead of a suspected heart attack and sent to a funeral home – only to be discovered breathing hours later.

The unnamed woman was discovered unresponsive at her home in Detroit on Sunday, with first responders from Southfield Fire Department spending 30 minutes attempting to revive her, before declaring her dead.

The woman’s case was passed on to the local medical examiner. They formally declared her dead and released her remains to a funeral home of her family’s choice after it was ruled she did not appear to have been a victim of foul play.

But four hours later the young woman was discovered still breathing at the James H Cole funeral home. A spokesman said: ‘After receiving clearance from the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s office she was transported to our funeral home.

‘Upon her arrival at the funeral home, our staff confirmed she was breathing and called EMS.’ Emergency responders arrived at the scene, and rushed the woman to hospital.

Further information on what happened next and her current condition have not been shared by officials who cited the privacy of the woman and her family.

ClickOnDetroit reported how officers from Southfield Police Department who attended the woman’s home reported seeing her move and breathe. They flagged this up to first responders who had attempted to revive her, only to be told it was a common side effect of the medication used to try to save her.

An investigation into the blunder is now set to be launched.

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