Finding the Body of a Family Member

One of the most traumatic experiences one can have is finding the body of a loved one in their home, or yours. If you’ve ever experienced this emotional shock, you know what we’re talking about. It’s upsetting and adds a different layer of pain to the grieving process, making it harder to tell if there’s a deeper problem.

Know that we’re sorry for your loss, and we’re here to help you move on after finding a family member’s body. To save you time and bring you the most important details, please view our checklist on what to do after death occurs.

We’ve touched on grief a little in our other blogs, which is usually needed after a found body situation. With this article we’re going to explain the process of moving on after finding a dead body. We’ll assume this person is your family member, which is more tragic than finding a deceased stranger in an alley, for instance.

We’ll also assume you’ve made the important emergency call to 911 or your local police, and the coroner has professionally removed the body.

Moving on After Finding Dead Body – Funerals are for the Living

Regardless of which tradition your family keeps, or which spiritual house your loved one called home, the only way for friends and family to move on after a surprise death is some sort of ceremony. The sooner you can gather a group together and say goodbye, the sooner you’ll be able to move on.

• The expenses and investments associated with a funeral don’t matter. Even a private meeting at a family home or “celebration of life” at a park can be a meaningful way to start the grieving process.
• Many families struggle to move on if the body is at the coroner’s office for a long while. It’s a surreal experience, waiting to learn if the found body is the family member, and a cause of death.
• If you’re going through this experience, know that you’re not alone! Every found-body case goes through this unhappy limbo.

There are many affordable ways to hold a funeral or memorial service, so if you know that you want to but funds are tight, it is still a possibility.

The next step will be household cleanup, and that’s where Suicide Cleanup can help.

Cleaning Up the Home After Finding a Dead Body in it

We’re not going to mince words, but we won’t get too graphic either. Dead humans are awful messes. If the body is any more than a few hours old, there can be a horrible smell. The longer a body was left, the worse the odor. And it tends to permeate the home – carpet, furniture, drapes and bedding in particular.

It can be utterly traumatic for a family member to enter a home again after they’ve found a body in it. And it’s heartbreaking to clean the mess. Furthermore, if the mess isn’t cleaned correctly, odors and stains can come back. The finding family member has to re-live the nightmare over, and it makes it so hard to move on.

After the Home Cleaning – Distribute Small Belongings for Closure

Memorial services are for the living and help to bring closure, and a family meeting to distribute belongings is another way to get through the grieving process.

• We’re not talking about divvying up a financial estate or acting as executor / executrix.
• We mean that families can connect and have a meaningful parting experience by distributing small cherished tokens among themselves.
• Consider small items like your family member’s key chain, lapel pins, dog tags and costume jewelry. These meaningful mementos will give other family members something solid to hold and own, while remembering your loved one.

For a positive feeling of finality, you might want to donate clothing, dishes, books, media and other items to a local thrift shop. You’ll feel good knowing that your loved one will continue to “live on” in this way, helping others in a time of need.

Finding the body of a deceased loved one is a traumatic situation, and can even result in PTSD. The staff at Suicide Cleanup understands, and we’re here to help. If you need help getting a family house or apartment adequately cleaned and disinfected after finding a body, reach out to us today.

We work with many homeowners insurers, and victim funds so that quality cleanup may come at no cost (or minimal cost) to you. In many cases we can have a crew out to the home within a few hours.