NEWS / Tennessee family obtains death certificate for relative buried under incorrect name

A Tennessee family has finally been able to obtain a death certificate for a man who had been misidentified and buried under an incorrect name. The man, now identified as Denis Henry Martin, died in Memphis, TN, in September 2019, and was buried under the name of his roommate.

“We are extremely elated,” Claire Jackson, Martin’s niece, was quoted by WREG News 3 as stating. “I’m beyond words to explain why this has taken such a long time.”

Martin was found with abrasions on his forehead, knee, and right hand on Orange Mound Street in Memphis. He was then incorrectly identified as his roommate by the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center and was buried at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, as the roommate had reportedly been a veteran.

Martin had never served in the military, and DNA results confirmed his body had been misidentified.

Even after the mistake was discovered, Martin’s relatives had to wait a whole year to get the man’s death certificate, which was required to disinter and rebury his body. A letter from the Tennessee Department of Veteran Services appears to indicate that the family’s request to disinter Martin was approved March 7, 2025, but the family had to wait for months for the vital record document to arrive.

Jackson noted that the veterans cemetery was expected to correct the error, but that she was still waiting for this to happen. She noted that the family wanted to hold a proper funeral for her uncle to get some closure.

“My mom would be elated to know that she can honor my uncle’s memory with respect and dignity, where a gravesite is appropriate for his burial, that would bear his name, where she could then move forward with honoring him with a tombstone in his honor and in his memory as himself as opposed to someone else,” Jackson explained.

She also noted that she wanted to hold accountable parties responsible, with the possibility of a lawsuit against the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center. Jackson also stated that detectives are looking into the case of Martin’s death, as she believes her uncle had been killed.

If you need to retrieve a death certificate to get it apostilled or authenticated for use abroad, feel free to contact us via e-mail at info@apostille.us or by phone at (212) 233-7061. You can also place an order on our website.