A grieving Chesapeake family has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Snellings Funeral Home, claiming a horrific and traumatic experience during the viewing of their 24-year-old loved one.
Torreon Williams, who tragically lost his life in a car accident in May 2022, was expected to receive a respectful farewell. His mother, Tabitha Worrell, paid $3,000 for what she believed would be professional and dignified funeral services, including proper embalming and sanitary care. But on the day of the service, what the family witnessed left them shattered.
According to the lawsuit filed in Chesapeake Circuit Court, Williams’ body was discovered with maggots visibly crawling on his face and inside his mouth. Legal documents detail gruesome wounds on his cheeks and mouth that had not been present before, now infested with what the family described as “large, moving clumps of maggots.”
“This family entrusted Snellings Funeral Home and their parent company, Hollomon-Brown, with the sacred task of preparing their son for a final goodbye,” said the family’s attorney, Kevin Sharp. “Instead, they were confronted with an unthinkable horror… an image burned into their memory forever.”
The lawsuit further alleges that when Worrell reacted in shock and anguish, a funeral home employee physically touched her and told her, “Don’t you make a scene.” Another staff member allegedly blamed the condition of the body on flies.
Now, Williams’ family is pursuing legal action for gross negligence, breach of contract, and emotional distress, demanding accountability and justice for the devastating mishandling of their loved one.
“The defendants knew… or should have known … the importance of proper preparation and preservation of a body, and how crucial that is for families navigating grief,” the lawsuit claims.
A court hearing is scheduled for July 28 in Chesapeake Circuit Court, where the family is seeking a three-day trial.
Snellings Funeral Home has not responded to requests for comment.
