Funeral in New York turned into chaos: the widow and relatives of the deceased fought near the coffin

Footage from the Funeraria Juan-John Funeraria in East New York shows 26-year-old widow Ormella Ramos fighting off slaps and punches from her husband's relatives during his funeral. Fighters even knocked over the coffin with the body of Mark Anthony Umberto Ramos, reports Daily Mail.

Surveillance video shows the widow being yelled at by her sister-in-law. And then she slapped one of Ramos's friends, who came to the aid of the widow.

A fight followed, in which both sides intervened. Wreaths and even the coffin of the deceased overturned. The reason for the brawl was a dispute about whether to cremate the body of the deceased or not.

When the fight got out of control, Ramos called the police. Then she and her young son, who was then six years old, hid in a side room of a funeral parlour, where they kept other corpses.

Ramos sued the funeral home over the fight. She blames them for failing to defuse the tension between the two families, which actually went on for years, with the fight at the funeral culminating.

dramatic death

Ormella and Mark fell in love with each other in high school. Their first child was born when she was 17 years old. Her husband's family never approved of their relationship. When 22-year-old Mark drowned in Hanging Rock Park in June 2019, relatives blamed her for his death. The family, which includes the couple's four young children, lived close to where Mark died. All the children saw the body of the dead father.

"Why did he drown?" "How?" "He will return?" "Why can't he come back?" are some of the questions the children asked.

A few days later, according to Ramos, the children were further injured at their father's funeral when family members got into a fight.

“It really traumatizes me and my family emotionally,” Ramos said. “I wanted my children and I to have positive memories of my father.”

Ramos sued the funeral home, claiming they could have done more to create a safe environment for her and her children.

Cremation of Discord

Ramos said her husband wanted to be cremated. But his family wanted a traditional funeral with a coffin and a body, which created even more tension between the already warring relatives.

As a result of the fight, four funeral attendees, including Ramos, were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

However, CCTV footage shows that Ramos did not strike. The video shows Ramos' daughter-in-law approaching the grieving widow in front of the coffin. The couple exchange a few words, at which point a man steps between them.

Ramos said that she was talking to one of her friends and told how good her husband looked even after death, when a relative approached her.

“I was just trying to find a moment for myself,” she said. And her husband's sister was offended by her comments and told her to "shut the hell up."

Ramos said that a relative began to break down, blaming her for the death of the deceased, which she called "murder."

Then another woman, a friend of Ramos, is seen rushing to the aid of the widow and getting into a fight with a relative. They continue to stab each other, knocking over the wreaths and the open coffin in front of which they fought.

Meanwhile, another woman, whom Ramos identified as her late husband's other sister, spat at those who rushed to defend Ramos. The funeral director took Ramos, along with her six-year-old son, to a side room where two more bodies were kept. Inside the room, the brawl continued, and the funeral director persuaded the widow to call 911.

When the police arrived, they arrested four people. The charges have since been dropped. But Ramos was arrested and held in custody for approximately 30 hours after the incident.

A spokeswoman for the Brooklyn District Attorney's office said they have no record of the incident. This often happens when a criminal investigation has been closed.

Ramos is now blaming the incident at a funeral home in East New York. On July 13, she filed a lawsuit in the Brooklyn Supreme Court. She stated that she warned the staff about the numerous problems associated with the family. The day before the funeral, one of the sisters of the deceased said that they did not want the widow to be present at the farewell.

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Ramos came to the planning event at the funeral home with her late husband's best friend to take part in negotiations with the family. But she quickly left after a fight. As a result, she warned the staff of the funeral home that a quarrel and even a fight was possible.

“Not only did they not do anything, but they allowed this whole fight. They ended up dragging Ms. Ramos aside, calling the police and arresting her,” the lawsuit says.

Funeral home owner John Nieman said he had no recollection of the incident and declined to comment on the lawsuit.