A woman investigating an abandoned funeral home was stunned when the trip turned into a something out of a horror film.
April Vertucci entered the Swanson Funeral Home five years after it was closed by authorities due to reported poor conditions – with the crumbling property becoming a hotspot for fellow urban explorers.
But soon after arriving, she and two friends made a shocking discovery.
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The 41-year-old was upstairs when one of her companions went down to the basement and suddenly shouted out in shock.
They had found the body of a man crushed beneath a fallen casket lift, which had taken place in recent days.
Only the upper part of his torso was visible, with his mobile phone lying just out of reach from his hand – a haunting detail that has stayed with April ever since.
“[My friend] screamed out ‘Oh my God, please tell me if this is real’,” she told Need To Know, describing the moment one of her fellow explorers ventured downstairs.
The trio had been inside the abandoned funeral home for less than 30 minutes when the discovery was made.
The chilling scene unfolded in Flint, Michigan.
The trio immediately contacted emergency services and waited outside.
April, who is from Euclid, Ohio, said: “Matt [one of the other explorers] called 911 and we waited outside for the police.
“When police arrived, I escorted them to where he was.”
April, who has worked in hospitals since she was young, remained calm and focused on helping the authorities.
Police allegedly later told the trio the man had been dead for six days, and he was believed to have been attempting to salvage some scrap metal from the building.
As he tried to dismantle the casket lift, it collapsed and crushed him.
April added: “I was glad we could provide closure for his family.”
The owner of the funeral home told local press at the time that his business had been ransacked by intruders following its closure in 2017.
He was reportedly considering taking legal action of the explorers who made the discovery, saying at the time: “They’re trespassers, they broke into my funeral home, and they had no business being on my property.”
April stated to the media that she entered the building via the front door, which wasn’t locked – possibly due to the lock having previously been cut by other intruders.
She visited the site in 2022, sharing it on social media in a post which has recently made the rounds on TikTok.
One person commented: “Daaamn.’
“Crazy,” another user agreed.
Someone else added: “Omg, I get a feel the horror stories are true.’
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