A Michigan woman who was declared dead Sunday was reportedly found alive moments before she was to be embalmed.
Timesha Beauchamp’s mother told WDIV that her daughter remains hospitalized and may not survive. Beauchamp, 20, reportedly went into cardiac arrest Sunday morning, and Southfield paramedics pronounced her dead after attempting to revive her for 30 minutes.
Beauchamp has cerebral palsy and requires at least three breathing treatments a day, according to The Detroit News.
READ more: Woman pronounced dead is found BREATHING at funeral home hours later: Officials
WXYZ reported that Beauchamp’s godmother, who’s a registered nurse, told EMS that the 20-year-old still had a pulse. Further, several sources told WDIV that Southfield police saw Beauchamp moving and breathing and called fire crews back, but crews claimed the movements were caused by the medication they gave her while attempting to save her life.
The Southfield Fire Department said that hours after Beauchamp’s body was released and her family made funeral arrangements, the staff at James H. Cole funeral home discovered the woman was breathing.
The family’s attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, told WXYZ that funeral home staff was about to embalm Beauchamp.
“It’s one of people’s worst nightmares to imagine having an ambulance called and instead, sending you off to a funeral home in a body bag. The funeral home unzipping the body bag, literally, that’s what happened to Timesha, and seeing her alive with her eyes open.”
The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office said the fire department contacted them after consulting an emergency room doctor who pronounced Beauchamp deceased. The medical examiner reportedly authorized the release of Beauchamp’s body without an autopsy based on police’s claims regarding her medical history. Police also said there was no evidence Beauchamp was the victim of foul play.
Fieger told WXYZ that the 1.5-hour delay in taking Beauchamp to the funeral home instead of the hospital may jeopardize her recovery. She’s reportedly critical condition and is on a ventilator.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode.
[Featured image: Timesha Beauchamp/WXYZ]
