Shocking moment as open casket funeral culminates in a brutal brawl between rival New York families who spat, punched, and kicked each other because the body was not cremated: family sues funeral home.
Ormella Ramos is suing Funeraria Juan-John’s Funeral Home accusing its workers of failing to keep the wake from spinning out of control — even though they knew that family tensions might boil over.
Wild footage from the Funeral Home in East New York shows widow Ormella, 26, fending off slaps, punches, and even gobs of spit from her in-laws during the funeral of her husband, Marc Anthony Humberto Ramos.
Surveillance video shows the widow being verbally accosted by her sister-in-law, who eventually slaps one of Ramos’ friends who comes to her aid.
A scuffle then ensues as both parties get involved, causing wreaths – and even the deceased’s casket – to be knocked over.
Shockingly, a member of the departed’s family can even be seen spitting at Ormella and members of her family during the brawl.
Ormella’s husband, Marc Anthony, accidentally drowned in June 2019 at Hanging Rock State Park in North Carolina, where the couple lived with their four children.
The couple were teenage sweethearts who had their first child when she was 17, and Ormella said the family never approved of their union and blamed her for his death.
Her husband wanted to be cremated, but his family was against it, creating further tension between the widow and her in-laws.
Nevertheless, Ormella said that she wanted to move past the bad feelings for her children’s sake and invited her husband’s sisters to the service.
She picked the East New York funeral home to handle the arrangements, and Ormella warned staff there “of the numerous issues involving the family,” according to her lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
The day before the funeral Ormella’s sisters-in-law allegedly said that they did not want the widow at the service. When she showed up with her late husband’s best friend an argument and some shoving occurred, Ramos told The News. She opted to leave the mortuary that day and let tempers cool, she said.
“We’re not here for a problem,” Ormella said. “We’re not here for this.
The staff knew that everyone was on edge and told her “they would handle everything,” the lawsuit says.
She returned with her children and friends the next day, but emotions still ran high as they were about to begin the service.
As the battle raged, a member of the funeral home staff led Ormella and one of her young sons to a side room, where they kept two bodies, and urged her to call 911, the widow’s lawyer Philip Rizzuto said.
When police arrived, they arrested four people, including Ormella, who was charged with misdemeanor assault, accused of slugging one of her in-laws, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
Watch the video below: