Who Was In The Grave? 2 Weeks After Funeral, He Knocks On Pallbearer's Front Door: Lawsuit

WILDOMAR, CA — Family members are still fighting the shock and sorrow of thinking they buried their son, Frankie Kerrigan, nearly five years ago.

This week, the Wildomar family is in court, seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit against the Orange County coroner's office, alleging that the department intentionally misidentified another man's body as that of Kerrigan and citing a litany of errors.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department coroner's office declined any comment on the lawsuit, citing ongoing legal proceedings.

In 2017, the Fountain Valley Police Department and the Orange County coroner's office told the Kerrigan family that their son and sibling, whom they identified as homeless by choice, was found dead behind a Fountain Valley Verizon store.

The family held a funeral and buried the body that they thought was Frankie Kerrigan next to his mother.

Two weeks later, Frankie Kerrigan appeared on the doorstep of pallbearer Bill Shinker's house, very much alive.

Kerrigan's father, Francis Kerrigan, 86, of Wildomar, and his daughter, Carole Meikle, 60, sued Orange County for what they said was the pain of thinking they buried their son and brother.

Their lawsuit alleged that the coroner's office intentionally told them that Frankie Kerrigan died based upon superficial evidence, including an 11-year-old driver's license photo, rather than basing the ID on more reliable evidence.

Family lawyer James DeSimone told Patch in 2018 that the coroner's officials misidentified the body because "no one would care because the deceased was mentally ill and homeless."

DeSimone argued that a representative from the coroner's office told the family of Frankie Kerrigan's death before fingerprints were properly LiveScanned.

The sheriff's department told Patch it repaid the family for its funeral costs to settle a separate lawsuit.

Read: They Buried The Wrong Man: Wildomar Family Sues Funeral Home

In the current lawsuit trial, DeSimone told the jury in opening arguments on March 21 that the coroner's office did "not [use] scientific evidence to identify Frankie." He said the coroner's office "had no basis" in telling the father his son was dead.

During the trial, Orange County Coroner David Ralsten admitted in sworn testimony that he based his identification on the body's eye color and hairline, then "left on vacation," assuming that someone else would confirm the identity.

In his own argument, Norm Watkins, the attorney for Orange County, said that the misidentification was a mistake and not intentional, adding that the family is not "grieving a loss," The Press-Enterprise reported.

Who Did The Kerrigans Bury?

The family said it was used to Frankie Kerrigan's frequent disappearances, often lasting for weeks. The news of his death was greeted with profound grief and sadness, yet not disbelief, family members said.

Days after learning of his supposed death in 2017, the family collected belongings assumed to be his. But a few tell-tale objects were missing: a black attache case, a watch that he never went without, the family said.

A burial suit they purchased for his body did not fit properly. Though they glanced at his briefly opened casket, they didn't realize in their grief that "it wasn't him," according to statements from the family.

It wasn't until Frankie Kerrigan appeared at Shinker's door two weeks later that the family realized the depth of the coroner's mistake, they said.

The buried body was later identified by the Orange County coroner's office as John Dickens, 54, of Kansas.

Though the family learned of the mistaken identity in June, Dickens remained in the Kerrigan family plot for more than two months.

In August 2017, Dickens' remains were exhumed from the family gravesite, cremated and returned to his family in Kansas for burial.

The Kerrigan family previously sued the Chapman Family Funeral Home for its part in the mistaken burial.

Related:

They Buried The Wrong Man: Wildomar Family Sues Funeral Home

Misidentified Body Exhumed From Holy Sepulcher Cemetery