Monica Hicks says Pruitt’s Funeral Home in Houston sent a nearly $10,000 invoice after offering to cover her five-year-old daughter Zah’Layah’s funeral. The home calls it a misunderstanding, denies withdrawing the offer and says an itemized statement was required.
Hicks also alleged Pruitt’s took Zah’Layah’s remains from the medical examiner’s office without her permission. Director Linda Davis said Hicks had authorized the pickup; Hicks later acknowledged signing paperwork before the transfer but said she could not remember what it contained while grieving. Hicks subsequently moved the remains to Signature Funeral Home, which also offered a pro bono arrangement.
Zah’Layah was fatally shot on Sept. 19 when a man opened fire on Hicks’s vehicle on Grant Road in Houston; two children suffered minor injuries from broken glass. Jeremy Porter, 47, was arrested and faces capital murder charges. He told authorities he thought Hicks’s vehicle belonged to someone else.
