The city medical examiner snatched the embalmed body of a Brooklyn woman on the eve of her funeral, then failed to do an autopsy and didn’t return the remains to her family for almost a week, a new lawsuit charges.
The family was preparing for Sandra Anavitate’s funeral when the Medical Examiner’s Office called and said it wanted to collect her body for an autopsy — the night before her wake.
The Oct. 5 funeral had to be canceled, sister Jacqueline Hernandez said.
The city didn’t return the body to the funeral home for five days, and the mortuary didn’t notify the family for another seven.
Anavitate was admitted to Coney Island Hospital on Sept. 17 for an asthma attack, according to her sister.
A hospital spokesman said she could not comment due to patient-confidentiality laws, and the city Law Department would not comment on pending litigation.