Misspelled name caused man to sit in Cook County morgue for 6 weeks, family says

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A family says they their loved one was left in the Cook County Morgue for six weeks because his name was misspelled.

"My son did not deserve to be lying in that morgue," Ruthie McKinnie said. "I mean, it's so disrespectful."

McKinnie and her family are furious with the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office and Chicago police because her son, Kelvin Davis, was in the morgue for six weeks and they had no idea.

The family said they started calling the medical examiner's office weeks after Davis went missing.

"I gave description that he's very tall, 6'4" with freckles, very distinctive looking," sister Deborah Smith said. "She said, 'We don't have anyone by that name here.'"

So they filed a missing person's report with police.

"Thank god he had a tattoo of "love mom" in bold black letters on his arm and if not, I never ever would have found my baby boy," McKinnie said.

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Police alerted the medical examiner, and they realized Davis' body had been there the whole time. The problem was Kelvin Davis had been entered into the medical examiner's system as Kevin Davis.

According to a police report, when Davis was found on June 3 at a friend's apartment, that friend, who police said was a reliable source, gave them the name "Kevin," not "Kelvin."

"It's like, you must think about the fact that this person may have family, and someone that loves them and cares about them," Smith said.

The ME's office responded to the family's concerns about the miscommunication, saying, "we extend our deepest condolences to the family."

They continued, "Our staff would not have seen Kelvin F. Davis in our system and would not have been able to cross-check with a date of birth." Davis did not have any ID on him at the time of his death.

The medical examiner also said that it "relies on the investigating agencies to notify next of kin of the death of their loved one, but if next of kin is not located within 10 days the MEO works to find family." They added that the office worked with police to match fingerprints.

CPD told the I-Team fingerprints were taken at the time of death, but they came back to other names. Police said since they were given the name "Kevin" at the scene, that's the name they gave to the ME's office.

In 2021, the I-Team reported on another family who called the ME for nearly two months looking for their missing loved one. He was there the entire time, and even had identification on him.

As a result of that report, the ME took disciplinary action and the Cook County Office of the Inspector General investigated, finding failures and violations. The ME adopted the IG's numerous recommendations to approve communications.

In the Austin neighborhood, Ayanna McFadden said she waited a month to get a call from the medical examiner, revealing her son Malcolm's body was there the entire time after he died falling onto the tracks of the CTA Green Line. He had ID on him at the time.

"I love my son, and I miss my son," she said. "But I know he's not coming back."

The ME said, "Our deepest condolences go out to the McFadden family," and told the I-Team that the Chicago police hadn't located Malcolm's family, so they did a database search and "found a tentative next of kin." The ME left a voicemail a day after his death with Malcolm's brother, not his mom.

Like many people today, his brother said he didn't recognize the number, so decided not to take the call and saw the message weeks later.

"I want to see people held accountable for the actions that they took because it's not right," McFadden said.

The two mothers said the process made their grief even more agonizing.

"Everybody's got someone who loves them, and I love my son," McFadden said.

"You have to change the system to help us; this is serious," said McKinnie.

The medical examiner's report said Davis died of cardiovascular disease. The Davis family said they're still fighting for change to help improve communication at the medical examiner's office. The family also filed complaints with the county board president, lawmakers and the Illinois Attorney's General office.