Mother finds out her son's brains and other 'bodily remains' were tossed in random garbage bin after crash, mom had funeral without knowing, suit says

A Michigan mother says she was “mortified” to find out that she held a funeral and cremated her dead son without having all of his body parts, including a “significant portion” of his brain, after first responders threw the remains out.

Jessica Ostrowski’s 19-year-old son, Ethan Bennett, died in July 2023 after getting into a “fatal traffic wreck” while riding a motorcycle in Inkster, according to federal lawsuit she filed in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Bennett suffered a “catastrophic head injury” during the crash and Inkster police arrived on scene to find him with his brain “fully removed from his skull” and “skull fractures and hair from the deceased scattered around the parking lot and the cement parking blocks,” the complaint says, citing information released in an Inkster PD investigator’s report.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office “arrived on scene to take possession of [Bennett’s] body and all body parts that had been separated,” according to the complaint and investigator’s report. The Irving Fire Department then made the call to clean up and “conduct a wash down,” the documents say.

“[Firefighters] deprived plaintiff of due process by conducting a ‘wash down’ of the scene of Ethan’s death without properly preserving Ethan’s bodily remains for burial, instead improperly disposing of or leaving behind large portions of Ethan’s brain, skull, and scalp at the scene,” Ostrowski’s complaint says.

“After the scene of the accident was formally released, plaintiff was horrified to discover that large pieces of Ethan’s brain and scalp not only remained left behind on the pavement but were also found in a common garbage bin,” the document alleges. “Plainly, the scene was released even though Ethan’s bodily remains were not properly removed with the respect due under the circumstances. The insensitive and improper handling of Ethan’s bodily remains has caused plaintiff significant emotional suffering and mental anguish.”

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In Bennett’s postmortem report, the Wayne County ME stated, “Internally, no brain matter was present” during his autopsy. The report further stated that the ME’s office “received separate from the body was a portion of posterior parietal and occipital scalp (7 x 6 inch) with multiple attached fragments of fractured calvarium and 500 gm of pulpified brain tissue.”

Ostrowski’s complaint notes how the “average weight of an adult male’s brain is 1,400 grams.” It accuses county workers of depriving “due process by mutilating Ethan’s bodily remains” and claiming to take possession of “all body parts that had been separated” when, in fact, they left “significant portions of Ethan’s brain, skull, and scalp” at the scene, Ostrowski’s lawyers argue.

“They released the scene of Ethan’s death without first verifying that Ethan’s bodily remains had been properly handled with the respect owed to a deceased individual and their family,” the complaint says. “Defendants’ conduct was reckless and showed callous indifference toward plaintiff’s rights.”

Ostrowski’s complaint says that in Michigan, a decedent’s next of kin “possesses a clearly established common-law right, akin to a property right, to respectfully dispose of the body of the deceased, possess the body for burial, and prevent its mutilation.” It adds that a “next of kin’s interest in a decedent’s bodily remains qualifies as a property interest constitutionally protected by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United State Constitution’s prohibition on deprivations of property by states without due process law.”

Speaking to local NBC affiliate WDIV, Ostrowski said the entire situation has been “awful” to go through.

“I was just mortified,” she said about finding out that Bennett’s remains had been allegedly thrown away in a garbage bin.

“No mother, or anybody should ever have to go to a crash scene and witness that,” Ostrowski explained. “They found parts of head, hair, and brain matter in the trash and throughout the parking lot… And there’s still no closure.”

One of Bennett’s best friends “went in the middle of the night” to the crash scene and found “a large piece of Ethan’s head,” according to Ostrowski.

“This was my son’s hair. You know, part of his skull,” she said. “In the trash.”

Ostrowski added, “How did he not matter?”

Todd Perkins, attorney for the City of Inkster, sent WDIV the following statement:

“The circumstances surrounding Mr. Bennett’s death in 2023 were tragic. Our thoughts and prayers remain with his family. With that understanding, calling to end these employees’ careers gets ahead of the facts. The City has conducted a complete and thorough investigation, and we’re confident the Inkster Police and Fire Departments handled the scene appropriately and professionally. Upon information and belief, this matter has been reviewed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, and that office has charged no one with any wrongdoing. We await an opportunity to defend against these allegations in court.”

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