ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Scott Hounsell says he felt like somebody had punched him when he was told last month that an independent office of the Newfoundland and Labrador government had cremated and buried his sister without telling him.
Erica Hounsell was 56 when she died in November 2023, and her brother says he was told at the hospital that he could leave her affairs with the province's public trustee's office and her remains with the provincial health authority.
He says though he loved his sister dearly, they were estranged for decades as she struggled with addictions, and he worried he'd face debts or other unknowns if he became executor of her estate.
The 60-year-old says he was told the trustee's office would take care of things and contact him in about five months, when her remains would be interred, so he could hold a service to honour her.
But after months of silence he began calling and re-sending paperwork, and was finally told in early January that she had been cremated and buried a few weeks earlier.
He says he had to track down the funeral home that did the work in order to find out where his sister was laid to rest.
The office of the public trustee is a division of the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The trustee is appointed by the provincial government to protect the financial assets of clients, who may include children, missing people or residents who have died.
This report by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was first published Feb. 12, 2025.
