San Bernardino County woman "shocked" as urn ordered off Amazon comes with ashes inside

A San Bernardino County woman was shocked to discover that what appeared to be someone else's ashes were already being stored inside of an urn she had ordered from Amazon for her late husband's ashes.

Maureen Heller's husband, Larry, died last year. She ordered several small keepsake urns for her family members to share some of his ashes, and when she finally found the strength to open the boxes containing the urns, she found that one wasn't empty. 

"We were both shocked when I found out there was ashes in that one urn," Heller said. 

 She then called their grandson, Mark Culbertson, to help after the unsettling discovery. 

"All of the other urns of the exact same style and box were empty," Culbertson said. "This one came filled already."

He says that the urn was filled almost to the top with what appears to be ashes. He reached out to Amazon, through which Heller ordered the urns from a vendor called Tru Point Memorials. 

"All they said was, 'Sorry about your used product, we can give you a refund of $19.99,'" Culbertson said.

In disbelief, Culbertson said that he then called Amazon customer service since he didn't feel that they were fully grasping the issue through messaging. When he spoke with someone, they told him they were unsure what they could do. He then finally got in touch with an executive representative. 

"The representative I talked to with that team, she seemed very caring and sorry," Culbertson said. "They want us to drop it off at a mortuary, and that's the next step."

Culbertson and Heller both agree that that doesn't feel right.

"For me, it's just hard to let that happen, cause now I feel responsible for these ashes and who they belong to," Culbertson said. 

While it's still not entirely clear if what's inside the urn is actually human remains, they want to make sure that if they are, they're treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve. Heller said that they're handling them with the same care she would give her husband. 

"I feel like maybe it will be my responsibility," Heller said. 

Amazon told the family that they're still investigating the matter with Tru Point Memorials, but that they can't share further details. A spokesperson for Amazon shared a statement with CBS LA, which said: "We sincerely apologize to our customer — this situation was not handled with the care it deserved. We're in direct contact with him and are committed to ensuring this matter is resolved with the dignity and respect it warrants."

In the meantime, Heller and Culbertson plan to hold onto the urn and possibly ashes until they get more information, fearful that someone else's loved one could get lost or left behind. 

"I would like to know that it was handled correctly and we did the right thing," Culbertson said.