Medical mix-up results in wrong remains

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A Newport News woman suffered the loss of her mother, a giving woman. She gave her body for medical research. When the research was finished, the daughter thought her beloved mother's cremated remains had finally come home, but she thought wrong.

"It's amazing it comes down to that. She weighed 152 pounds, and that's all that's left," said Beverly Boyce as she clutched a bag of her mother's cremated remains." Ann Ankeney, who lived in Virginia Beach, was a teacher and Boyce says she was the best teacher you could find. "She had the meanest and worst children you could have and they absolutely adored my mom," Boyce told WAVY.com.

In 2001, Ann, always giving, gave medical students a selfless gift. She offered her body for medical research upon her death. The end would come December 13, 2007. Ankeney spent her last months trapped in the world of dementia, Alzheimer's and malnutrition. Her body was sent to UVA medical school.

When the school took all Ann had to give, her body was cremated and her ashes were to be returned. They were not returned, so Boyce repeatedly called Sam Perry who was the Anatomical Program Supervisor. "He'd always say, 'I'll check on it, let me get back to you.' He always sounded annoyed, and I told him we wanted the remains back on the one year anniversary of Mom's death," Boyce remembered.

Perry finally mailed Ann's remains In December 2008, one year to the day Ann died. Mom had finally come home -- so Beverly thought. A year would come and go until a call on November 3, 2009 changed everything. "The caller said, 'This is Dr. Leah Bush and the remains you were sent were the wrong remains. Someone dropped the ball. I have your mother's remains here in Richmond,'" Boyce remembered with still stunned astonishment.

State Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Leah Bush blames the mistake on human error. "Human error. I had a receipt where Ms. Boyce had actually signed for the remains and when the medical school sent me remains saying they were Ann's I knew there was a problem because I had the receipt for remains already returned."

Boyce said, "It angers me beyond belief. I can't even tell you. I would have rather have been told she's not back than to have ashes in my home for ten months that were not my mom's. I called you guys because I want you to get to the bottom of this, and find our how many other families this has happened to."

Dr. Bush thinks this may have happened at least three times. WAVY.com called the retired supervisor who failed to properly deliver the remains. Retired State Anatomical Program Supervisor Samuel L. Perry III lives in Richmond. We asked him "Can you tell me how it happened?" Perry responded, "All I can say it was a mistake. That's all I can say right now." Again we asked, "How did it happen?" Perry explained, "I can't really say right now because I'm up in the airplane flying."

WAVY.com called Perry at his Richmond home. He wasn't flying, and we asked him again how such a mistake could be made possibly to others too. "It's just a little minor mistake. I don't want to elaborate at this time....call me back tomorrow at 10am," Perry said. Repeated calls the next day, and the next, and the next were unanswered.

Perry claims it was a minor mistake. Don't tell that to Beverly Boyce, "It was deliberate...he just wanted to get rid of me and got tired of the calls. I don't care what he says." Don't say minor mistake to Dr. Leah Bush either who finally made things right by personally delivering the proper remains to Boyce. "Mr. Perry did not do his due diligence to make sure the remains were her mother's...I have no reason to believe, however, that Mr. Perry acted maliciously just to put an end to Beverly's near daily calls." Perry also denied his mistake was intentional.

The incident has led Dr. Bush to make changes at the State Anatomical Program. "We now have a system of checks and balances. We do not only have one person handling the remains like Mr. Perry's situation. We have a few who now confirm remains with funeral homes, and another who is in charge of making sure the correct remains are going out."

Beverly wants to believe Dr. Bush when she says these are indeed her mom's remains. Ann's long lost journey is over, and she will be interred next to her husband when he dies. For Beverly, her emotional toll can't be excused. "I think of her often," Boyce said with tears in her eyes. "I will be sitting at my house, and I'm balling hysterically because I miss her. She was a good lady."