Content warning: The following story might be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is strongly advised.​

There are very few things more difficult than losing a loved one. But the grief can be overwhelming, and the process of planning a funeral on top of everything else can add even more stress to an already difficult time.

This was the unfortunate circumstance for one 82-year-old mum, who not only had to deal with the passing of her daughter but was also saddled with the burden of discovering that the jewellery she was buried with had been stolen.

When Teresa Moraitis’ daughter Helen passed away five months ago, the 82-year-old grieving mum made sure her daughter would be laid to rest properly.

To ensure that Helen received the best possible funeral service, Teresa paid over $10,200 to Orthodox Funeral Services in Melbourne for a traditional Greek open casket service with full embalming.

But after being given special permission by authorities to open the coffin, she found the gold chain and locket that Helen was supposed to be buried with (along with two other bracelets and a diamond ring) was missing.

The funeral director is allegedly the main suspect according to police. Credit: Pixabay in Pexels

Mortuary staff at the funeral home were also shocked to discover Helen was naked, unembalmed, and stuffed in a blue body bag. The casket’s lining was also ripped out, and mortuary instruments were found lying next to her.

The hands of the deceased are also normally respectfully poised on their chest or abdomen, but one of Helen’s arms was found to be ‘forced’ behind her head.

Funeral Director, Peter Tziotzis, was confronted by TV reporters over the allegations before being arrested. He was later released after denying any involvement.

The story was reported by the news channel, A Current Affair. Credit: Lany-Jade Mondou in Pexels

​

On the day of the funeral, Helen’s casket was apparently kept shut despite Teresa’s request for the open casket service.

The funeral director claimed that he was ordered by the coroner at the time to keep the casket closed. Teresa’s family called the coroner’s office the day after the funeral to ask why the casket was closed. The coroner explained no such order was made.

Teresa told reporters that she was ‘screaming and crying’ upon discovery of what happened to her daughter’s body.

She said she wanted the body exhumed because she wanted to see her daughter. ‘All my relatives wanted to say goodbye,’ Teresa added.

During exhumation, the embalmer, Sofiya Bouabdulla, revealed that the deceased was already ‘quite decomposed’ and hadn’t been ‘prepared in any capacity’.

Mr Tziotzis still denied the allegations against him. When confronted by reporters, this is what he said:

‘I want you to ring up the coroner's office and find out because they're the ones that took her into their care.’

But authorities raided the funeral director’s home and funeral parlour in Oakleigh South, where detectives allegedly found and seized Helen’s missing items. Mr Tziotzis was later released without charge, but police reassured everyone that investigations are still ongoing.

A new funeral service will be held for Helen.

You can watch the news report below:

​

Key Takeaways

• A grieving mother had her daughter's corpse exhumed to properly say goodbye after her wishes for an open casket service were ‘ignored’.
• The mother, Teresa Moraitis, 82, had paid $10,200 to Orthodox Funeral Services for her daughter, Helen, to have a traditional Greek open casket service with full embalming.
• The funeral director, Peter Tziotzis, has denied any involvement in the incident.
• Upon exhumation, she found that her daughter’s jewellery was stolen, and her daughter’s remains were ‘stuffed’ in a blue body bag.
• Police have raided the funeral parlour and allege that they have found and seized the missing clothing and jewellery.
• Mr Tziotzis was arrested but later released without charge.

We honestly have no words, members. If you have anything you’d like to share, feel free to let us know in the comments.

 

[DiRose]

This is so appalling, and how often has this happened to other customers of this funeral company.
Needs to be a very thorough investigation. Not even enbalmed!!!!!!!

 

[Groovy]

This is old news Saw it on TV probably a month ago or more

 

[annvic]

Yes old news but still so very sad because reality is in the world somewhere there are companies who are shoddy and have no care for the dead.

 

[Shane O'Neill]

Content warning: The following story might be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is strongly advised.​

There are very few things more difficult than losing a loved one. But the grief can be overwhelming, and the process of planning a funeral on top of everything else can add even more stress to an already difficult time.

This was the unfortunate circumstance for one 82-year-old mum, who not only had to deal with the passing of her daughter but was also saddled with the burden of discovering that the jewellery she was buried with had been stolen.

When Teresa Moraitis’ daughter Helen passed away five months ago, the 82-year-old grieving mum made sure her daughter would be laid to rest properly.

To ensure that Helen received the best possible funeral service, Teresa paid over $10,200 to Orthodox Funeral Services in Melbourne for a traditional Greek open casket service with full embalming.

But after being given special permission by authorities to open the coffin, she found the gold chain and locket that Helen was supposed to be buried with (along with two other bracelets and a diamond ring) was missing.

View attachment 9675

The funeral director is allegedly the main suspect according to police. Credit: Pixabay in Pexels

Mortuary staff at the funeral home were also shocked to discover Helen was naked, unembalmed, and stuffed in a blue body bag. The casket’s lining was also ripped out, and mortuary instruments were found lying next to her.

The hands of the deceased are also normally respectfully poised on their chest or abdomen, but one of Helen’s arms was found to be ‘forced’ behind her head.

Funeral Director, Peter Tziotzis, was confronted by TV reporters over the allegations before being arrested. He was later released after denying any involvement.

View attachment 9674

The story was reported by the news channel, A Current Affair. Credit: Lany-Jade Mondou in Pexels

​

On the day of the funeral, Helen’s casket was apparently kept shut despite Teresa’s request for the open casket service.

The funeral director claimed that he was ordered by the coroner at the time to keep the casket closed. Teresa’s family called the coroner’s office the day after the funeral to ask why the casket was closed. The coroner explained no such order was made.

Teresa told reporters that she was ‘screaming and crying’ upon discovery of what happened to her daughter’s body.

She said she wanted the body exhumed because she wanted to see her daughter. ‘All my relatives wanted to say goodbye,’ Teresa added.

During exhumation, the embalmer, Sofiya Bouabdulla, revealed that the deceased was already ‘quite decomposed’ and hadn’t been ‘prepared in any capacity’.

Mr Tziotzis still denied the allegations against him. When confronted by reporters, this is what he said:

‘I want you to ring up the coroner's office and find out because they're the ones that took her into their care.’

But authorities raided the funeral director’s home and funeral parlour in Oakleigh South, where detectives allegedly found and seized Helen’s missing items. Mr Tziotzis was later released without charge, but police reassured everyone that investigations are still ongoing.

A new funeral service will be held for Helen.

You can watch the news report below:

​

Key Takeaways

• A grieving mother had her daughter's corpse exhumed to properly say goodbye after her wishes for an open casket service were ‘ignored’.
• The mother, Teresa Moraitis, 82, had paid $10,200 to Orthodox Funeral Services for her daughter, Helen, to have a traditional Greek open casket service with full embalming.
• The funeral director, Peter Tziotzis, has denied any involvement in the incident.
• Upon exhumation, she found that her daughter’s jewellery was stolen, and her daughter’s remains were ‘stuffed’ in a blue body bag.
• Police have raided the funeral parlour and allege that they have found and seized the missing clothing and jewellery.
• Mr Tziotzis was arrested but later released without charge.

We honestly have no words, members. If you have anything you’d like to share, feel free to let us know in the comments.

Bloody thief

 

[Iggydi]

Wow happening right here in Australia. That’s disgusting. The funeral guy should be jailed for being a thief and a low life criminal
so sad that the mum had to go through all of that

 

[Ricci]

I'd have him digging his own grave, by hand, with a teaspoon, that would give him plenty of time to reflect on his actions.

 

[Suzanne rose]

This is so unbelievable, he needs to be arrested and face the consequences.

I have been to many many Greek orthodox funerals and every single one has been an open casket .
At the end of the service everyone walks around the casket and say goodbye then give their condolences to the family.
This is almost tradition, can be heart breaking but a huge part of the funeral.

Bad enough she had to bury her daughter but for the rest just heart breaking.

 

[Suzanne rose]

I remember maybe 3 years ago a funeral home in Canterbury Bankstown area was involved in a huge, unforgivable mistake.

A man's funeral service which was held in The Greek Othodox Church Belmore ,could not have gone more wrong.

Lucky his funeral was an open coffin because to the shock and disbelief of his friends and family , it was not him in the coffin

The widow and her family found out her husband’s body had been buried two hours earlier.
Despina said mourners were left “very upset”.

Her son said the family acknowledged the mixup was not deliberate but that it was nonetheless devastating.

“It was a pure accident. No one is disputing that,” he said.

“It’s just devastating for us.”

The funeral home, said the mixup occurred during a routine procedure.

“The procedure is normally that one should check the ID on the body before they actually put the coffin lid with the name plate on the coffin,” Funeral Director said.

“This is where that procedure was not followed through.”

Both families were offered a refund over the ordeal.

I have expressed my most sincerest apologies,” Haralambous added.

“I wish I could turn it back for the families. I can’t. I understand the trauma it’s caused.”

Despina’s husband was farewelled at a second funeral days later.

The family now wants to know how their loved one’s body could be exhumed without permission or consent

Scary thought is , what if the last funeral service wasn't an open coffin!

 

[Jen77au]

This is old news Saw it on TV probably a month ago or more

Might be old news to some but I don't watch TV and hardly read the papers due to them being so negative. This is so heartbreaking for the family.

 

[JayEeGeeP]

Rare to see a poor undertaker, new one when I was young and it was common to remove the jewellery. Disgusting, he was a friend of my parent and I had always thought he was honest.

 

[Petra]

This is so so sad Thieves are everywhere. Who can you trust these days? I do hope and pray that everything was sorted out and that her daughter is now resting in peace.

 

[Groovy]

Yes old news but still so very sad because reality is in the world somewhere there are companies who are shoddy and have no care for the dead.

Might be old news to some but I don't watch TV and hardly read the papers due to them being so negative. This is so heartbreaking for the family.

I’m really sorry, if I upset you the way I reacted. Was not my intention to take the news article as a joke. I just thought that it was a bit late from the writer to let us know after such long time. I apologise to anyone who felt the same way as you about my reaction. When I saw it on TV I felt very sorry for the family involved and disgusted about the conduct of the funeral company.

 

[Suzanne rose]

I’m really sorry, if I upset you the way I reacted. Was not my intention to take the news article as a joke. I just thought that it was a bit late from the writer to let us know after such long time. I apologise to anyone who felt the same way as you about my reaction. When I saw it on TV I felt very sorry for the family involved and disgusted about the conduct of the funeral company.

I don't think anyone thought you were making a joke. They were saying that they never knew about this. Sometimes old news is still news and still informative to people. This particular story needed to be retold to let people know that things like this do happen.

 

[Jen77au]

I’m really sorry, if I upset you the way I reacted. Was not my intention to take the news article as a joke. I just thought that it was a bit late from the writer to let us know after such long time. I apologise to anyone who felt the same way as you about my reaction. When I saw it on TV I felt very sorry for the family involved and disgusted about the conduct of the funeral company.

As Suzanne said Groovy, I myself was saying that it wasn’t old news for me. I don’t watch a lot of tv. Will see snippets of the news if I’m visiting my parents as my mum watches every edition from 4 pm!

I’m over the people are treated, how so many people just can’t seem to get along. The violence, protests that, yes I believe protests may have place in society but the people that turn those violent, why? I understand some have high emotions about the cause but it’s usually the ring ins.

I watch the natural disasters with a sadness for the people involved but feel so proud of our SES, rural firies and other volunteer organisations. Our Police Force, and our Defence Forces who are involved with cleaning up, as well as the average everyday Aussies who will sometimes put their own lives at risk to help.

The celebrity stuff, the sportspeople doing wrong… why showcasing it? It encourages them or others to do the same for more attention

But I usually only see these things if visiting. I won’t deliberately put myself in a low mood from watching the news or reading the newspaper! So yes, it’s my fault that I do miss these stories.

 

[Suzanne rose]

As Suzanne said Groovy, I myself was saying that it wasn’t old news for me. I don’t watch a lot of tv. Will see snippets of the news if I’m visiting my parents as my mum watches every edition from 4 pm!

I’m over the people are treated, how so many people just can’t seem to get along. The violence, protests that, yes I believe protests may have place in society but the people that turn those violent, why? I understand some have high emotions about the cause but it’s usually the ring ins.

I watch the natural disasters with a sadness for the people involved but feel so proud of our SES, rural firies and other volunteer organisations. Our Police Force, and our Defence Forces who are involved with cleaning up, as well as the average everyday Aussies who will sometimes put their own lives at risk to help.

The celebrity stuff, the sportspeople doing wrong… why showcasing it? It encourages them or others to do the same for more attention

But I usually only see these things if visiting. I won’t deliberately put myself in a low mood from watching the news or reading the newspaper! So yes, it’s my fault that I do miss these stories.

Alot of people don't watch the news for the same reason.
My hubby doesn't watch the news as he says it's too depressing and he says who knows what is the truth, although he does read the newspaper and skips articles.
When I hear off certain stories like this I will share it with him.