The 62-year-old Brazilian, who was wrongly pronounced dead, is found alive in a body bag at the funeral home – only to die of hypothermia two days later
- José Ribeiro, who was hospitalized with tongue cancer in February, was wrongly pronounced dead by a doctor at Goiano Central-North State Hospital
- The 62-year-old had been placed in a body bag and kept in a refrigerator at the hospital morgue for five hours before being transported to a funeral home
- There, a worker noticed that his eyes were open and he was having trouble breathing
- Ribeiro’s condition worsened and he died of hypothermia two days later
- The doctor who signed Ribeiro’s death certificate has now been investigated for attempted murder
A Brazilian man who was pronounced dead by a hospital was found alive and breathing in a funeral home – only to die of hypothermia two days later.
José Ribeiro, who was hospitalized with tongue cancer in February, was wrongly pronounced dead on November 29 by a doctor at Goiano Central-North State Hospital in Uruacu, Goiás.
The 62-year-old had been placed in a body bag and kept in a refrigerator at the hospital morgue for five hours before being transported to a funeral home. There, a worker noticed that his eyes were open and he was having trouble breathing.
Ribeiro deteriorated and he died two days later, his sister Aparecida Ribeiro told local Brazilian news outlets.
dr Lucas Campos, who signed Ribeiro’s death certificate, has been suspended and is now being investigated for attempted murder.
José Ribeiro, who was hospitalized with tongue cancer in February, was wrongly pronounced dead on November 29 by a doctor at the Goiano Central-North State Hospital in Uruacu, Goiá. The 62-year-old had been placed in a body bag and stored in a refrigerator at the hospital morgue for five hours before being transported to a funeral home. He died two days later
A coffin containing the body of José Ribeiro is carried to a cemetery in the Brazilian city of Rialma on Thursday, hours after the 62-year-old man died of hypothermia
A copy of the death certificate given to José’s family showed that he had died of tongue cancer. The doctor who signed Ribeiro’s death certificate is now being investigated for attempted murder
Aparecida said the family arrived at the hospital around 8pm on the day Ribeiro was wrongly pronounced dead to make the necessary arrangements to take his remains to the funeral home in their hometown of Rialma, 61 miles away.
A funeral director was preparing Ribeiro’s body for the wake when they suddenly noticed that his eyes were open and he was having trouble breathing.
Aparecida and her family were informed of the incident and rushed to the funeral home before taking her brother to Rialma Municipal Hospital, where he died two days later.
The Goiano Central-North State Hospital in Uruacu, Goiás, has Dr. Lucas Campos suspended, who had mistakenly declared José Ribeiro dead
“It’s unbelievable what happened. My brother spent five hours in a plastic bag, refrigerated,” Aparecida said. “It was terrible, such a situation is unacceptable.”
Rialma Civil Police MP Peterson Amin, whose department received a police report from Aparecida, is investigating José’s death as a homicide.
“The cause of death hypothermia increases the responsibility of the doctor, so today (Friday) we will change the classification of the investigation, which was previously classified as attempted murder, as accomplished murder because of possible malice,” Amin said.