A New Orleans funeral home mutilated and unlawfully disposed of former New Orleans Saint play Glenn Foster Jr.’s remains after his death one year ago while in police custody in Alabama, according to a newly filed lawsuit.
Foster, 31, was taken into police custody Dec. 4 after a speeding violation.
He died two days later after being found unresponsive in the back of a police cruiser upon arrival at a medical facility. He had been held in the Pickens County Jail.
On Thursday, attorneys for Foster’s family filed a lawsuit against Carriage Services Inc., the Louisiana funeral home that was hired to handle his remains.
The lawsuit alleges that the funeral home failed to properly embalm and care for Foster’s remains, and that it destroyed his brain without consent or authorization.
The suit was filed by attorneys Ben Crump of Ben Crump Law and Kenneth Abbarno of DiCello Levitt.
Attorneys for Carriage Services said they declined to comment out of respect for Foster’s family.
Attorneys described Foster as a family man, businessman, philanthropist and former Saint who died Dec. 6, 2021, after being in police custody.
Foster’s family believes he may have been suffering from a manic episode in the days leading up to, during and following his arrest. They said Foster had a history of mental health challenges.
“As a result, the family’s plan was to have his brain evaluated for CTE, like many other families of former NFL players have elected to do,’’ according to a statement from Crump. “The funeral home failed to preserve his brain in a manner in which it could be properly examined.”
The day before he died, a Pickens County judge ordered Foster held without bond and ordered him to undergo a mental health assessment.
A year later, the circumstances surrounding Foster’s death remain in question, as the initial autopsy findings indicated that he did not die of natural causes, attorneys contend.
“Mrs. Foster and her family have experienced so much tragedy already, and the mishandling of her beloved husband’s remains, and destruction of his brain add insult to injury,” Abbarno said in a Thursday press release.
“The defendants in this case had one job to do, and their gross negligence and incompetence are nothing short of horrific.”
The lawsuit, which also names the local funeral home’s operator and director, along with ACORD Corporation, which issued an insurance policy to the defendants, accuses the defendants of improper embalming and handling, and improper storage and disposal of human remains, as well as negligence of funeral home hiring and supervision.
“A full year later, significant questions remain as to why Mr. Foster died in the back of that police car,” Abbarno said.
“Pickens County still owes Mrs. Foster and her family answers regarding her husband’s death. That the family now must also contend with the mishandling of his body is truly heartbreaking.”
