Timothy Garlington, a 56-year-old U.S. Marine veteran, unexpectedly passed away in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2023. After his passing, his parents, Abbey and Lawrence Butler, enlisted the Southern Cremations & Funerals at Cheatham Hill in Georgia to service his remains and transport them to Nix & Nix Funeral Home in Philadelphia.
Instead, Abbey and Lawrence Butler reportedly discovered their son’s unpreserved brain in an unmarked box. The box, reportedly among their son’s personal items retrieved from the Georgia funeral home to bring on their car ride back to Philadelphia.
How did this happen and why?
Now, The Shade Room’s Justin Carter is stepping in to retrieve answers on ‘TSR Investigates.’
More Details On Timothy Garlington’s Passing & The Shocking Discovery Made By His Parents
According to Carter, Abbey and Lawrence Butler made it back to Philly and left some of Garlington’s items in their backseat. Per their attorney, L. Chris Stewart, four of five days passed, and when the couple got into the car again, they recalled that it “smelled like death.”
“They look in the backseat and they pick the box up and it’s covered in fluid,” Stewart explained to Carter. “They called Southern Cremation in Georgia, and they’re told, ‘It’s your son’s brain,’ … no explanation, no apology, no shock — just that it was their son’s brain.”
During a press conference on Thursday, June 24, Lawrence Butler explained that he “had to get rid of that car.”
“I couldn’t stand the idea that his remains were in that car,” Lawrence added. “When I found out that it was his remains, it was just overwhelming.”
More On Abbey And Lawrence Butler’s Plans Forward
On Thursday, July 24, Abbey and Lawrence Butler filed a 10-page lawsuit against the Southern Cremations & Funerals at Cheatham Hill and Nix & Nix Funeral Home. Now, the Bulters are pondering some major questions for both funeral homes.
Scroll above to watch Carter detail these questions as Stewart explains why the couple has filed their lawsuit over a year after the mishap. In addition, Carter explains the citations he discovered when looking into the history of both funeral homes. Lastly, Carter shares a statement he received from Julian Nix, the founder and CEO of Nix & Nix, on the matter and investigation.
