Exhume

[Pam Claire]

Does anyone know more about the Exhume procedure, a friends mother would like to exhume her dead baby from 7 years ago, were not sure that she can do it, can anyone offer me any advice. Thanks

[sddsddean]

You have to have an extremely good reason to do this. I think it would be controlled by the Coroners office. The only cases I have ever heard of are to gain evidence in old police cases (usually murder, although murderers who were hanged have been exhumed to try and prove their innocence) or where a graveyard is about to be disturbed for some reason and this requires reinternment of bodies. On a job I was on in Coventry once we found a lead coffin from the 16th C. This had to be reburied in accordance with the Coroners instructions.

[Pam Claire]

she's doing it because she's immigrated to Austraila and would like the dead body near her, it all sounds dodgy to us, surely after 7 years, there will be nothing left of the body, Do you know any number I can call to find out more. Thanks

[mikewith]

Pam Claire - your local Coroner's Office will probably be in the phone book - or you could speak to a local Funeral Director.. they will know who you should talk to even if they can't answer the question themselves! Sorry not to have the answer to hand...

[Miss Zippy]

You need to obtain a Coroner's Warrant to be able to do this. There are a few reasons which would allow a body to be exhumed, one of them being if the body is to be transferred to another grave or be cremated (others are - to verify identity of a deceased, recover documents or jewellery buried with the deceased, to enable road schemes to proceed, to open an inquest or on public health grounds). I don't know if you would be able to take the body out of the country though (surely a public health risk?), only the Coroner's Office can advise you of this. Possibly, your friend may be allowed to exhume the body, cremate it (if feasible - I have no idea how long human bodies take to decompose) and take back the ashes with her. On a different note, perhaps your friend needs some counselling - she clearly is not over her grief to want to take such drastic action? Best wishes.

[comloulou]

I dont think you'd have to be too disturbed to want to do this. Often part of the coping and grieving process is to have somewhere to go to grieve. She may feel that the proximity of the grave is comforting, being thousands of miles away would be a real wrench.