Ledger’s Death

Normally, I reserve this blog for my own personal experiences as a funeral home employee, but this recent story sparked my interest and I thought I would recap the story here and then give an explanation of what may have occurred behind the scenes based on my experiences in the funeral business.

The story is related to the recent death of actor, Heath Ledger. Most likely, after his body was removed from his NYC apartment by the coroner, it was taken to the Medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. After the autopsy, people from the Frank E. Campbell funeral home in New York, acquired the body and began preparation for the funeral. Most likely, Ledger’s body was embalmed at the funeral home since a body cannot be transported by airplane in the United States or overseas without embalming. This is a Federal law. After Legder was embalmed, someone would have chosen clothes for him to be buried in, and viewed in (if a viewing was to be included in the funeral plans). Most likely, his manager, his immediate family (father, mother, or sibling), or his ex-wife may have been included on the decision as to what to bury him in and what casket to use. These decisions have to be made quickly and are important since they will be the last image people have of the deceased.

There are rumors circulating that someone posing as Ledger;s father arrived at the Funeral home and made decisions, spoke to celebrities who called (such as Tom Cruise), viewed Ledger;s body, and flew to California with a free First class ticket from a national airline. These are rumors that I find very difficult to believe since Legder’s real father was shown on TV soon after his death, and would have been in NY possibly before the body ever arrived at the funeral home. In addition, the funeral home probably went to great lengths to ensure privacy through secrecy of where Ledger’s body was located. I am also sure that everyone involved in the decision making process was directly related to Ledger in some way. It is, after all, the family (or in this case, a manager) who would have initially called the funeral home to ask them to conduct the funeral arrangements. Funeral homes do not randomly pick people up unless someone (from the family) has asked them to do so.

After the body was embalmed, dressed, and placed in the casket, it was then ready for flight. The casket would have been placed in a large wooded crate-type box for shipping. Paperwork would have been placed inside the casket with the body as well as secured to the outside of the shipping box. The box would have been clearly marked “human remains” on the outside. Airline personnel have special rules and guidelines for how this cargo is treated, including the placement of the box in a climate controlled area of the cargo hold. As for the other rules, I am unsure since I never have worked as an airline cargo person.

Above:  Ledger’s Cargo-Casket Box being loaded for airport delivery 

The box would have then been driven to the airport cargo bay. It would have been treated just as any box being shopped on a plane, and would have been loaded in the bottom cargo area of the airline. There may have been people riding on a normal commercial flight from New York to California without any knowledge of Heath Ledgers body laying in the underneath cargo space just beneath them. If people knew there were caskets on commercial airlines, some people ay refuse to fly, but this is a common occurrence. Most likely, if you have ever flown, you too have ridden with a dead person and not known it. Once the airline arrives, the funeral home is called and comes to the airport cargo depot to pick up the remains. Once back at the funeral home, the box is opened, casket removed and the body is ready for a fresh make-over. Often times here may be some fluid leakage or make-up touch ups that need to be tended to after a body has been transported by airplane. In Ledger’s case, if the body were then going on to Australia, the embalmers may have infused more embalming fluid than usual to offer the best preservation as possible. Ledger’s body would have to be able to withstand many days of travel and activity, and decomposition would need to be delayed as long as possible.

My guess is, since Ledger’s body was found fairly soon after he died, and since he was young and fairly healthy, the embalmers probably did not have any trouble preserving his body for the funeral.

One more note about human remains as cargo: an airline ticket for the deceased would be purchased through the funeral home, and usually cost as much as a regular plane ticket (between $250 – $700). This cost would be included in the funeral home bill. Most airlines have information about their specific guidelines for “Human remains” which can be found by doing a simple search on “Human Remains Cargo.”

~ by claytonguiltner on January 30, 2008.