A loving wife who saw her husband die in front of her claimed his body was "treated like a bag of rubbish" ahead of his funeral.
Deanna Carberry Hamilton, 65, told the ECHO her husband, Kenneth Hamilton, died of a heart condition on December 27 last year when the pair were at home together. She said Mr Hamilton, 59, had been to the doctor just weeks before his death but unexpectedly collapsed after telling her "I'm scared".
Mrs Carberry Hamilton said his body was taken to the City Mortuary, operated by Liverpool City Council, following his death. The nan claimed she was not allowed to see his body while it was in the morgue - and his post-mortem was delayed due to the timing of his death falling between Christmas and New Year.
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Mr Hamilton's body was collected by funeral director B Jenkins & Sons on January 23 after the post-mortem had taken place. His wife claimed she was told by the funeral directors that her plans to have an open casket funeral could not go ahead due to the condition of his body.
Mrs Carberry Hamilton, from Netherley, told the ECHO: "We wanted to have an open casket funeral but were told his body had been treated so poorly he was like a bag of rubbish. I wanted to have hand sculptures of my Kenny but was told his hands were unrecognisable from how I remembered them.
"I wasn't allowed to see his body because it was in such a poor condition. They told me they were saving me from further pain."
Mr Hamilton's funeral was delayed due to his wife's own ill health and was eventually held on February 22 - nearly two months after his death. A spokesperson for B Jenkins & Sons told the ECHO: "Having collected the late Mr Hamilton we advised his wife that the condition of the deceased body had deteriorated, which is only natural given the weeks that had passed since his death.
"Under no circumstances was Mrs Carberry Hamilton advised that she would not be allowed to view Mr Hamilton but following her advice it was mutually agreed that the best approach for all would be to have a closed casket.
"We acknowledge this is a very sensitive and delicate situation. We always offer our advice and guidance from our professional experience and knowledge which we have provided to families having now served 143 years of our funeral services to the surrounding communities in the area."
A Liverpool City Council spokesperson added: "We are really sorry to hear about the death of Mr Hamilton and our thoughts are with his wife and his family. We are extremely concerned to hear of what Mrs Carberry Hamilton was told by the funeral directors.
"We always adhere to national standards in relation to the storage of the deceased. We are carrying out further enquiries and will be reaching out to Mrs Hamilton and also speaking to both the Funeral Director and the Coroner regarding this matter."
Mrs Carberry Hamilton said her and her husband were married for 30 years. She added: "He was my world, my life."
She told the ECHO: "My husband was my carer. He would do anything for anyone. Our little dog collapsed and died weeks of a broken heart weeks after Kenny died. Kenny was a gentleman who was popular with everyone who met him.
"There were hundreds at his funeral - everyone idolised him. He would go to the end of the earth for anyone. He was such a lovely man. He was my world and I was his. That's what he would call me - he would refer to me as Miss World."
Mrs Carberry Hamilton said she has been supported by her oldest son Kevin and his daughter Leah in the months following her husband's death. The three of them gathered at Allerton Cemetery on Thursday, April 27 to mark what would have been his 60th birthday.
His loving wife added: "We had plans together for his 60th - we were going to go away on a barge. My last memory of my Kenny was him dying on our living room floor. I haven't seen him since."
The ECHO understands the council is in contact with the family to find out more about the matter.
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