Family Shocked at Treatment During Grave Side Service

PASADENA, TX -- A local family is considering legal action after an incident at a local cemetery left them shocked at the treatment they received at a family members funeral.

The family of John Zeno alleged that a cemetery worker kicked Zeno's his casket at graveside during an equipment malfunction.

Now Zeno's family is consulting with a lawyer to figure out what to do next.

On Sept. 25, Zeno, 25, died after an asthma attack, and on Oct. 15, family members gathered to bury him and pay their last respects, but things didn't go as planned.

Zeno's uncle, Willie Cosby, told KTRK that a machine used to lower the casket at Paradise Cemetery South in Pasadena wasn't working properly.

At that point, Cosby said, the cemetery worker began kicking the machine before pressing a button dropping the casket and Zeno's 270 pound body into the cemetery vault.

"You just hear .. Zzzzzzzzzttttttttt! And the whole body goes slanted," Cosby told KTRK.

The casket opened slightly - not revealing the body - then wedged crooked into the vault.

Then, the coup de grace when the cemetery worker failed to properly apologize and simply remarked, "my bad."

In the end, the cemetery ensured Zeno was correctly laid to rest.

The cemetery's parent company, Dignity Memorial they are committed to family privacy and that they prefer to resolve issues directly with family.

Image: Jonelle B. via Flickr