Leaking package leads Philadelphia couple to discover son’s brain inside, lawsuit claims

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PHILADELPHIA, PA — What Abbey and Lawrence Butler thought was a shipment of their late son’s personal belongings turned into a shocking discovery now at the center of a lawsuit against two funeral homes.

The Butlers say the package, sent months after the death of their 56-year-old son, a Marine Corps veteran, Timothy Garlington, began leaking and emitting a foul odor inside their vehicle. The shipment had arrived from Nix & Nix Funeral Home in Philadelphia, which had been working alongside Southern Cremations & Funerals in Marietta, Georgia, where Garlington died on November 15, 2023.

According to legal filings, the Butlers were told the delivery contained their son’s effects. But inside a white box was a red sealed container they couldn’t open. Shortly after…