SAN ANTONIO – Access and security at Mission Park Funeral Home were among the evidence discussed Wednesday as lawyers for the funeral home began to present their case in a civil trial.
The Mott family is suing Mission Park, alleging negligence on the funeral home's part, after the body of their daughter, Julie, was stolen in August 2015.
Her body was awaiting transfer to a crematorium following a memorial service. She died from complications of cystic fibrosis.
Fred Myer, the owner of a mortuary service company contracted by Mission Park to pick up Julie's body from the family home, testified Wednesday that all proper procedures were followed.
Myer said that contrary to earlier testimony, funeral home access by codes and keys was not unlimited.
Dr. Christopher Ticknor, a psychiatrist who conducted a peer review of psychiatric care of Julie Mott's parents, Timothy and Sharlotte Mott, said that the couple was being treated for depression and anxiety for several years before the disappearance of their daughter's body.
The family is suing Mission Park for $1 million alleging that they suffered, and will continue to suffer, mental anguish as a result of the funeral home's negligence.
Testimony is expected to continue Thursday in Judge Norma Gonzalez's 131st District Court.