When James Hines died in 2004, it was rumored that in order to fit 6-foot-7, 300-pound South Carolina man’s corpse into his coffin, the undertakers had taken the unusual measure of cutting off his legs. Earlier this week the body was exhumed and the rumors proved to be true, the legs had been severed mid way between calf and ankle and placed atop the body in the coffin.
A criminal investigation is now underway as desecration of human remains is punishable by up to ten years in prison under South Carolina law. At the funeral, the body was displayed from the chest up, with the bottom half of the casket being closed; a number of people, including one of Hines’ own children, were said to have remarked that the casket looked too small. Hines’ wife had chosen a standard sized casket prior to the funeral and has stated that no one had suggested that there were plus-sized options. [SF Gate]
