Open casket displayed at Warren public park prompts police investigation

WARREN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A picture of an open casket on display at Butcher Park in Warren has gone viral on social media.

A Warren resident who did not want to be identified lives nearby and said she heard about the open casket on social media and immediately drove to the park to see if it was true.

"Like everyone else, I would say I was curious," she said. "So I decided to come on up and check it out for myself and see if it truly was an open casket with a deceased person in the casket."

There is also a man seen in the photo sitting on a bench next to the open casket. She said he was there when she arrived at the park, so she approached him to ask what was happening.

"He quickly identified himself as a funeral director from New York and that he was transporting this deceased woman to Michigan to be buried, and the cemetery she was being buried at would not allow an open casket graveside, so this gentleman decided to stop at Butcher Park in Warren to allow her remaining family that lived nearby to come and pay their final respects so they could see her one last time so they could have their closure," she said.

Warren police confirmed the explanation, and Detective Carla Rexford said everything done was legal, but this was still very unusual.

Police spoke with the funeral director and learned that the body of a 97-year-old Warren woman who had died in New York was being transported to the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit. Police say the casket was placed in Butcher Park temporarily for the family to view before the woman was buried in the cemetery.

"I have been with Warren for 10 years, and we have never had a situation like this," Rexford said.

Rexford said the community made a flood of calls over the past few days, and police are grateful the community made them aware of the incident.

Moving forward, police would like to be made aware of any similar types of incidents.

"There are not going to be any charges; the family was just trying to pay their respects, but just to prevent any further issues and make sure everything was done properly, we do request that city hall or police is contacted," said Rexford.