SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California man who thought his son had died has learned he buried the wrong man.
Eighty-two-year-old Frank J. Kerrigan of Wildomar says the Orange County coroner’s office mistakenly identified a body found dead on May 6 as that of his son.
Kerrigan says he was told fingerprints were used to ID 57-year-old Frank M. Kerrigan, who is mentally ill and homeless.
But Kerrigan’s lawyer tells the Orange County Register (https://bit.ly/2tZSyZj ) it appears authorities weren’t able to match fingerprints from the corpse before concluding it was Kerrigan’s son.
A $20,000 funeral and burial were held.
Eleven days later, Kerrigan’s friend called to say his son was alive. Kerrigan says his son got on the phone and told him: “Hi Dad.”
A coroner’s spokesman says the case is under investigation.
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