Constance Glantz had been in a hospice care unit in a nursing home.
No matter what illness pushed the 74-year-old woman to this inevitable edge, her death was expected, as people whose job it is to care for the dead often say.
In these situations, it is said that “the death of a patient is anticipated.” Later, the sheriff’s chief deputy in Lancaster County, Nebraska, would say, “A doctor had seen her in the last seven days, and the doctor is willing to sign the death certificate. At the time of the death, there was nothing suspicious—all of those fit.”
Ben Houchin said that in this case, there would be no need for a coroner’s probe and no police officer would be sent out.
“That’s why,” Houchin said, still thinking about the strange, some might even say magical events that had happened on Monday, “the sheriff’s office wasn’t sent to the nursing home right away.”
Also, at 9:44 a.m. that same day, staff at The Mulberry home in Waverly had already said that Constance was dead, the top deputy said.
Since everyone knew what would happen, he said it was likely that at least two people came to take her body away to get ready for what would happen next. There was no need for any more proof.
In Lincoln, more people who know about death quickly moved to put Constance on a table, Houchin said, “to start their process.”
At that point, a worker saw something very strange.
Since the nursing home staff’s last words almost two hours ago and after a 25-minute drive to the funeral home, Constance—whose name comes from the Latin words for “constant” or “steadfast”—did something truly amazing:
She was taking a breath.
“Right away, they called 911,” the experienced police officer said.
CNN station KOLN said the call from Butherus, Maser, and Love came in at 11:45 a.m., which is when Houchin said it did.
As soon as Lincoln police, fire, and rescue workers got to the funeral home, they saw Constance breathing, which seemed both normal and impossible at the same time.
“She is still alive,” Houchin said that afternoon. “She was taken to a nearby hospital.”
“This is a very strange case.”
Constance kept going for a few more hours.
After about 4 p.m., she stopped breathing.
Later, Houchin said that she was declared dead again and that an autopsy was done Tuesday morning.
Houchin said that what happened was told to Constance’s family and that the sheriff’s office began an investigation that included going to the nursing home.
Houchin said Monday, “At this point, we have not been able to find any criminal intent by the nursing home. However, the investigation is still going on.” There will be an investigation into what happened by the care home and everyone else. They will check to see if new rules need to be made and if they were all followed.
“The funeral home did nothing wrong at all,” Houchin said Tuesday, citing the probe. “They were the ones who found her still alive.”
In a statement, Butherus, Maser, and Love Funeral Home said, “We are proud that our directors and staff handled the recent incident in the news carefully and in the right way.” “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
“Thank you to Lincoln Fire & Rescue and the Lincoln Police Department for getting here so quickly,” it said. “Thank you to everyone who has trusted us with their loved ones.” Our core values of faith, trust, and kindness will guide us as we continue to help our community.
He said that both the funeral home and the nursing home have been “totally cooperative” with the investigation by the sheriff’s office. CNN has asked both to say something.
He said, “That’s going to be the next big step.” It’s likely that charges won’t be decided until up to 12 weeks after the final autopsy reports come in.
For his part, the top deputy told reporters, “I’ve been doing this for 31 years, and nothing like this has ever grown to this point.”
He said, “This is a very unusual case,” which may not have been necessary.