By Moses M. Tokpah/MARGIBI
A perplexing case of mistaken identity involving two deceased individuals has emerged in Margibi County, raising serious questions about the handling of bodies at a local funeral home.
Police report indicates on Friday evening, May 30, 2025, Madam Miatta Massaquoi, a 38-year-old resident of Bassa Community reported to the Margibi County Detachment of the Liberia National Police (LNP) that the body of her late mother, Mary Massaquoi, who passed away on May 19, was missing from the Solomon Tubee Funeral Home.
The report revealed that the family had arranged with funeral home operator Mr. Saturday O.P. Tubee to keep the body preserved until May 30, when it would be collected for burial.
Upon arriving at the funeral home to retrieve her mother’s remains, Madam Massaquoi said she was shocked to find the body was no longer there. Police promptly invited Mr. Tubee, age 54, for questioning.
Exercising his Miranda right as provided for under the constitution, Mr. Tubee declined to make a formal statement without a legal counsel but provided preliminary information about his staff, according to police report. Mr. Tubee told the police that his co-worker Patrick was in Monrovia when a group from Sanoyea Town, Bong County, arrived to claim a body. He said Patrick reportedly authorized the release of a body to Mr. Stephen Cole, who transported it to Sanoyea.
Mr. Cole confirmed receiving the body but noted the remains were severely darkened and unidentifiable, which caused confusion between the two families Involved.
The police report furthered that despite the initial mix-up, the families have reportedly agreed to return the body currently held in Sanoyea back to Kakata City for proper re-interment of Mary Massaquoi’s correct remains.
Authorities are conducting further investigations into the funeral home’s procedures to determine if any legal or professional standards were violated in the handling and identification of the deceased.
