A grieving family is suing a cemetery in the Hollywood Hills after learning that the headstone honoring their late mother had been placed over the wrong burial plot for four years.
The Demirchyan family said they discovered the mistake in April during the funeral of their father, Avetis Demirchyan, who was being laid to rest beside his wife, Hasmik, at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Their son, Chris Demirchyan, said a mortician pulled him aside during the service to inform him that Hasmik’s headstone did not match her actual burial site. The memorial tablet had been placed in “space 1,” while Hasmik was buried in “space 2,” just one plot to the right.
“I feel betrayed because we have been speaking to an empty plot,” Chris Demirchyan told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff. “All those times we put down flowers, we prayed, we came for holidays, we even put up a decorated Christmas tree – it was the wrong space.”
The cemetery has since corrected the error by moving the headstone to the correct location. However, the Demirchyan family is filing a lawsuit, claiming emotional distress from grieving at the wrong site for years.
“While we appreciate Forest Lawn for taking appropriate action to correct their error right after they discovered it, it still is inexcusable because this would not have come to light if my client hadn’t suffered another loss,” said Rosie Zilifyan, the family’s attorney.
The family is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages, but said their primary motivation is to prevent similar mistakes from happening to other families.
“They think saying sorry and moving it makes up for what was four years of mourning that we did, and we’re still grieving,” said George Eskichyan, Hasmik’s grandson. “This adds an extra layer of hurt and pain.”
KTLA has reached out to Forest Lawn Cemetery for comment. The cemetery has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit.
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