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The family of an Alabama inmate is suing the state's Department of Corrections over the condition of his body when it was returned to them.
Brandon Dotson, who was serving a 99-year prison sentence for a burglary conviction and a parole violation at Barbour County's Ventress Correctional Facility, died on November 16.
His family requested his body, which was returned to them on November 21. However, his body was "severely decomposed," forcing the family to hold a closed-casket funeral.
The family was shocked at the condition of Dotson's body and hired Dr. Boris Datnow, an autopsy pathologist, to conduct a second autopsy.
During the autopsy, Datnow discovered that Datson's heart was missing.
"The Alabama Department of Corrections – or an agent responsible for conducting the autopsy or transporting the body to his family – had, inexplicably and without the required permission from Mr. Dotson's next of kin, removed and retained Mr. Dotson's heart," the lawsuit states.
As a result, Datnow was unable to determine how Dotson died.
Nobody seems to know what happened to Dotson's heart. While his family suggested it was donated to the University of Alabama- Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham media specialist Brianna Hoge told Fox News that the school "did not perform this autopsy and has not been involved in this matter."
"To date, no one has explained to the family why Mr. Dotson's heart was missing when his body was turned over to them' and plaintiffs' do not know where Mr. Dotson's heart currently is, or in whose possession," the lawsuit states.