Chicago family told body they buried 3 years ago is not their brother after funeral home mix-up

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago family is demanding answers after being told the person they buried three years ago is not, in fact, their brother.

Tony and Ronnie Hill lost their older brother Carl on April 17, 2020, when the 67-year-old died of natural causes. He was buried at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip.

"I put my brother at peace, I relaxed and let it go," said Ronnie Hill.

The Hills were at peace with their brother's death, making frequent visits to the cemetery in the past three years, until they recently received a disturbing phone call from Gatling's Chapel, the South Side funeral home who handled Carl's arrangements. They told the Hills the body buried at Restvale is not Carl.

"We go out there talking to him and we are talking to somebody else, it's not even my brother," Ronnie said. "Why? I don't understand."

Carl Hill's real remains have been at the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office for more than two and a half years. According to a spokesperson, the medical examiner took jurisdiction of an unidentified decedent from Gatling's Chapel on Sept. 18, 2020, five months after Carl's death. Because the body was already decomposed, Chicago police and Illinois State Police were unable to use fingerprints to identify who it was.

The medical examiner's office said attempts at facial recognition, dental records and information submitted to national databases failed as well. Finally, the FBI was able to positively identify the remains as Carl Hill using more sophisticated technology.

Ronnie and Tony Hill went to Gatling's Chapel to get answers, but didn't have any luck. Neither did ABC7.

After multiple attempts to get a comment from Gatling's Chapel, the funeral home said they cannot release any information about a client without permission from the next of kin. Gatling said only Carl Hill's children can grant permission, and so far they have not provided us with anything further.

"He was a great brother. I mean, I idolized him, I looked up to him, I almost worshipped him," Tony Hill said. "For him to be subject to this type of abuse in death..."

"Carl don't deserve this, no family deserves to go through the situation of a body being held up instead of being in the ground at peace," said Ronnie Hill.

The Hills said Gatling's apologized to their sister over the phone. The question now becomes, who is the person buried at Restvale Cemetery since it is not Carl Hill?