Sheila McGilvrey is seeking more than $2 million from Weaver Funeral Home & Cremation Services, alleging it returned her partner's clothes, which he wore when he died, with brain matter and bodily fluid on them. She says she fainted after opening the bag.
The lawsuit says McGilvrey found her partner, Richard Pretzeus, dead outside his Blountville home in September 2025 after he died by suicide. It also says her son took the bag outside to a fire pit after she fainted.
McGilvrey said the National Association of Medical Examiners told her the incident “must have been an oversight” by the medical examiner and did not violate accreditation standards. Tennessee's Department of Commerce and Insurance confirmed it received a complaint but declined to discuss an open investigation. The funeral home's lawyer said it would defend the allegations in court and could not comment on pending litigation.
