A New York family is demanding justice after a shocking discovery revealed that the sister they believed they had cremated last summer is actually alive—months after they held a funeral service for her.
Shanita Hopkins says she was devastated when she received news last year that her younger sister, Shanice Crews, had been found deceased in a Rochester parking lot.
Officials told her that the badly decomposed body was Crews, and the cause of death was listed as a cocaine overdose—something Hopkins questioned from the beginning.
“I knew something was off,” Hopkins told WROC TV. “My sister didn’t use drugs. But they told us the body was unrecognizable and we couldn’t view it.”
Faced with a traumatic situation and unable to verify the remains, the family authorized a swift cremation and held a memorial service to honor Shanice’s life.
But everything changed in November, when Hopkins received a text message from a stranger that left her in disbelief.
“Ma’am, I’m concerned—your sister is not dead. She just volunteered at my event today,” the message read, accompanied by a recent photo of a woman who looked exactly like Shanice.
Hopkins immediately contacted local authorities, which led to a DNA test. The results revealed the truth: the body they cremated wasn’t Shanice Crews at all.
Monroe County Medical Examiner Under Scrutiny
The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office, responsible for the misidentification, said they followed “industry standard” identification protocols. While they have retrieved the ashes and offered to reimburse the family for funeral expenses, the Hopkins family says that’s nowhere near enough.
“They didn’t just get it wrong—they put us through a living nightmare,” Hopkins said. “We want accountability.”
The family says they are considering legal action for emotional distress, as they continue to process the trauma of mourning—and mistakenly cremating—a stranger.
A Sister Alive, But Still Out of Reach
Though Shanice Crews is reportedly living in Detroit, the family has yet to hear from her directly.
“We can’t force her to talk to us,” Hopkins said. “But she’s alive. That’s something we’re still trying to wrap our heads around.”
The shocking turn of events has sparked outrage and concern on social media, with many calling for stricter verification policies in death investigations, especially when families are denied the ability to confirm the identity of their loved ones visually.
As the Hopkins family continues to seek answers and justice, their story raises critical questions about accountability, misidentification, and the human cost of institutional error.
