A Virginia woman has filed a shocking $5 million lawsuit after a family viewing turned into a real-life nightmare. According to Law&Crime, Tabitha Worrell is taking legal action against Snelling Funeral Home in Chesapeake, Virginia — and its owner, Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home in Norfolk — after she says her son’s body was found covered in maggots during his service.
Court documents reveal Worrell is suing for breach of contract and negligence, stemming from the condition of her 24-year-old son, Torrean Williams, who died in a car crash on May 2, 2022. The family paid the funeral home a $3,000 fee to prepare Torrean’s body for viewing and burial. But what they encountered instead was unbearable.
Maggots Allegedly Covered His Face, Nose, and Mouth
Worrell says her family was horrified when they saw her son in his casket during the viewing — his face, nose, mouth, and other body parts allegedly consumed by clumps of live maggots. According to the complaint, the insects had burrowed holes into his cheeks, making it clear to the family that the body had been severely neglected while under the funeral home’s care.
To make matters worse, the lawsuit says that when Worrell broke down in grief, a funeral home employee allegedly tried to calm her by placing their hands on her and telling her not to make a scene. Even more disturbing, another worker casually stated, “the flies got to him.”
Emotional and Mental Toll on the Mother
Since that traumatizing moment, Worrell’s lawyers state she has suffered from ongoing anxiety, insomnia, vivid nightmares, and terrifying flashbacks. She’s also deeply disturbed by the way the funeral home staff allegedly dismissed her grief with insensitive comments rather than accountability.
The lawsuit highlights how the funeral home’s failure to properly preserve her son’s body not only violated a basic duty of care — it inflicted emotional scars that may never heal.
Seeking Accountability
Tabitha Worrell’s lawsuit seeks $5 million in damages for the negligence and emotional distress inflicted by the funeral home’s alleged misconduct. At this time, Snelling Funeral Home and its ownership group have not publicly commented on the lawsuit.