BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A claim has been filed against the Kern County Coroner's Office after it allegedly turned over a woman's remains to a non-relative who opted for cremation without the family's consent.
The claim was filed on behalf of the victim's parents.
The claim says the coroner's office failed to properly investigate and did not follow its own protocols before releasing 61-year-old Victoria Anne Marie Hampton's remains.
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Hampton was shot and killed after she confronted four people about stealing her vehicle on Mon, June 20.
According to the BPD, "an exhaustive investigation into this homicide" revealed that the men had stolen the woman's vehicle. Instead of notifying authorities, the woman attempted to track the vehicle using an Apple AirTag. She found the vehicle near the 5600 block of Ginger Drive and confronted the suspected thieves, resulting in her being shot around 6:32 a.m. on Sun, March 19. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries on Sat, April 1.
David Thompson, 19, Adam Ransom, 18, Joseph Bush, 23, and Giovanni Garcia, 19, were all arrested on arrest warrants related to the shooting.
The claim says Teresa Cline was the woman who took Hampton's body from the office and had the remains cremated.
