'Paranormal activity': Memphis woman 'killed' by Social Security Administration

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Kenshay Watkins died on January 10th.

The Whitehaven woman walks, talks, breathes and eats.

However, "Kensharael Watkins" has not legally existed for six months.

“I'm labeled deceased," she said. "Apparently, nobody knows how to fix it."

It all started when she applied for benefits with the Social Security Administration. Watkins had been hospitalized for seizures that made it difficult for her to work and drive. Her application was denied, so in February 2024, she visited the Social Security office on Austin Peay to appeal her claim in person.

“She’s like, ‘Ms. Watkins. We listed you as deceased January 10th, 2024,'" she recalled. "I said, ‘I’m sorry, excuse me, you listed me as what?! “And she was like, ‘deceased.’ I said ‘Deceased from what?!"

Mistakenly marked 'dead'

Watkins learned someone at the Social Security Office on third street mistakenly marked her as dead.

"It's one of the most frustrating, most disheartening, (and) most complicated (situations)," she said. "A simple error has caused so much chaos."

Newly married to the love of her life, she might has well have vanished in thin air.

“Not literally, but tangibly, you’ve lost your wife," she said. "You’re a widow.”

Letter after letter piled up on their kitchen counter, addressed to Watkins' estate.

"They were informed that I passed away," she recalled.

Her debt collectors sought payment. Her bank canceled her cards. Her tax return would not process.

‘"I don't even have a tax return on file because the social it’s attached to is labeled as deceased," she said.

She learned that she could not drive, could not vote and could not work.

"Nobody can pay me," she said. "They can’t deduct taxes. It’s illegal to pay me under the table or we’re both going to jail.”

Living with a diagnosis of epilepsy, Watkins can't even find health insurance.

"They can't find my social, so they can't add me," she explained.

"I'm living with a ghost," her wife Kim joked. "Literally. Paranormal activity."

The couple is haunted by the financial, emotional and mental toll this has taken on their family.

Six months with limited answers

Watkins struggled to find a Social Security employee who could help her.

“So you can kill me, but you can't bring me back to life?” she laughed.

In March, the Social Security Administration admitted the mistake. After a dozen trips to the office, Watkins told FOX13 it still wasn’t fixed.

On May 30th, a letter from the administration read, "our records incorrectly showed her as deceased. However, we have since found that she is alive."

The letter apologized for the inconvenience.

Watkins is far from the only one.

The Social Security Administration told FOX13 it receives approximately 3.1 million death reports each year. According to the administration, less than one third of one percent are subsequently corrected.

The percentage is small - but that's still around 10,000 people incorrectly marked 'dead' every year.

"There's only so much that I can do until someone, wherever that is, hits a button and says, ‘We fixed it,'" Watkins explained.

FOX13 helps Watkins cut through the bureaucracy

In the past week, Watkins received a letter from the Social Security Administration saying the mistake had been corrected and her status has been restored to living.

"We have corrected the erroneous death report on your Social Security record," the letter reads. "Your Social Security number is active and valid."

The administration issued the letter after FOX13 contacted Congressman Steve Cohen's office for help and his staffers intervened in her case.

Watkins still has several more steps to take to get her bank account and other accounts restored.

It's still not clear why a mistake that took seconds to make took more than half a year to fix.