Vince Pravato Interviewed by the “Only on 6” News Team
Vincent Pravato was interviewed by news channel, Only on 6, regarding his client, Rhonda Mitchell. She and her family are now suffering a second loss, after they say the funeral home they hired delivered them the ashes of a stranger.
The family said Hughes’ daughter, Rhonda Mitchell, chose the Taylor Smith West Funeral Home in Belle Glade to honor her mother’s end of life wish for cremation. Annie Hughes, 54, died in June and months following her funeral services the family still never received her ashes. When no ashes arrived, they began to seek answers, and only after the questions began were the ashes delivered. The family is convinced the ashes given to them weren’t Annie’s.
The funeral home gave the family a document as proof that the ashes they gave them, were in fact, Annie’s. But Diane Edgley of Edgley Crematory (where the body was supposedly cremated) told the family and NBC 6, “We have no record of her being in here at all,” and believes the paperwork the family received was probably a forgery. That theory may turn out to be true, given that the permit number and ID number for the body at the top of the form are completely missing. In addition, the crematory said the alleged forgers used the wrong address for the crematory business and that the signature on the document wasn’t accurate.
So where is Annie’s body? Fort Lauderdale Attorney Vincent Pravato is looking for answers. Pravato filed a complaint with the state and said the family has filed suit against the funeral home. In addition, the state is opening an investigation to determine if the ashes given to the family are in fact those of Annie Hughes. He said, “My first and foremost thought here is locating the body.”
Pravato said the next step in the case is to go to court to try to secure an injunction to get inside the funeral home to see if Hughes’ body may still be there. Watch the full interview here and Follow the case on Facebook.
