LOS ANGELES, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Local authorities confirmed Friday the identity of a homeless man who had been found dead in Southern California in early May and later buried by the wrong family after the coroner's office misidentified the body.
The man wrongly buried was identified as John Dean Dickens, 54, a native of the state of Kansas, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
The man was found dead behind a store in Fountain Valley, Orange County and first misidentified as 57-year-old Frank Kerrigan who suffers from mental illness and is homeless.
On May 12, the Kerrigan family held a 20,000 U.S.-dollar funeral.
But eleven days later, the Kerrigans were totally stunned when their beloved one turned up alive and appeared at their friend's home, local media reported.
The Orange County coroner's office admitted it had mistakenly identified the body but did not give details how the mix-up occurred.
An attorney hired by the Kerrigan family filed a 2-million dollar claim against Orange County last week.
The Dickens' family has requested the body be exhumed, cremated and sent back to Kansas.
