BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — There are new details regarding a claim filed against the Kern County Coroner's Office after the department allegedly turned over a woman's remains to a non-relative who opted for cremation without the family's consent.
The claim was filed on behalf of the parents of 61-year-old Victoria Anne Marie Hampton, the woman shot to death after attempting to track down her stolen vehicle using an Apple AirTag. The claim says that the coroner's office failed to properly investigate and did not follow its own protocols before releasing Hampton's remains.
Hampton's father, Richard Escudero, claims that he did not know about the shooting until Tues, June 21, the day after the four men who allegedly killed Hampton were arrested. The shooting took place on Sun, March 19 and Hampton died on Sat, April 1.
Escudero and his attorney say that the county did not seek out a blood relative before releasing Hampton's remains to a friend.
"It doesn't matter who the decedent is, you need to respect the remains," said Eugene Lorenz, Escudero's attorney. "You need to respect regular law there. Not some ad-hoc employee service department that bought somebody's story. 'Oh, okay. Take the body. That's fine with us. Here's all the keys, material, go to the house. Do whatever you want.'"
Escudero said that he and his daughter were estranged, but claims that he met with her three months ago. Her mother and sister live in Texas.
