A Nebraska woman declared dead by nursing home staff on Monday, June 3, 2024, was later found alive at a funeral home, sparking an investigation into the incident.
Constance Glantz, 74, was pronounced dead at 9:44 a.m. by staff at The Mulberry nursing home in Waverly, northeast of Lincoln. However, two hours later, workers at a funeral home in Lincoln discovered she was still breathing.
During a Monday afternoon news conference, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Ben Houchin stated, “In my 31 years of service, I have never encountered a case like this before. It is extremely unusual.”
Glantz, who had been in hospice care, was transported from the nursing home to Butherus, Maser & Love Funeral Home. As funeral home staff prepared to handle what they thought was her body, an employee noticed signs of life and performed CPR. “They instantly called 911,” Houchin said. Lincoln police and the city’s fire and rescue department responded, and Glantz was taken to a local hospital, where she died, for real, a few hours later.
The call from the funeral home came around 11:45 a.m., approximately two hours after Glantz had been declared dead.
The sheriff’s office has informed Glantz’s family about the situation and has initiated an investigation. “So far, we have not identified any criminal intent by the nursing home, but the investigation is still in progress,” Houchin stated.
When questioned about how many people had seen Glantz between her reported death and when she was found alive, Houchin was uncertain but mentioned that usually, at least two individuals are involved in transporting a body. “I expect the nursing home and others will thoroughly review the incident, evaluate if new protocols are needed, and ensure all existing procedures were followed,” he added.
Houchin explained that Glantz’s death did not meet the criteria for a coroner’s investigation. “The death of a patient is anticipated – which this was – and a physician had seen her in the last seven days and was willing to sign the death certificate, and there was nothing suspicious at the time of death. That’s why the sheriff’s office was not initially sent to the nursing home,” he said.
Similar incidents of people being mistakenly declared dead have occurred in the past. Last year, an Iowa Alzheimer’s care facility faced a $10,000 fine after a woman was declared dead and later found alive when a funeral director unzipped her body bag. In another case, a woman in Ecuador was discovered alive in her coffin at her wake hours after being declared dead.
