Conflicting accounts of family authorization have delayed decisions about where Michael Hunter’s funeral services will be held.
ST. LOUIS — The mother of a man killed in a shooting aboard a MetroBus is disputing a funeral home’s claim that it had permission to retrieve and prepare her son’s body, creating a conflict over his remains as the family plans his funeral.
Yvette Watkins, the mother of 24-year-old Michael Hunter, said she told Urban Undertakers Legacy & Cremation not to pick up her son’s body from the medical examiner’s office. The funeral home disputes that account, saying Watkins signed documents authorizing its services and later told employees to continue with arrangements already under discussion.
The disagreement centers on whether Watkins clearly withdrew or limited her authorization before the funeral home retrieved Hunter’s remains. Watkins said she called the business and repeatedly instructed an employee not to make the removal.
“I called and distinctly told him not to pick up Michael’s body, and I repeated myself three times,” Watkins said. She said an employee twice agreed that the funeral home would not retrieve him.
Watkins said she later learned that the funeral home had taken custody of Hunter’s body. She said the business sought roughly $3,000 for transportation, embalming and a viewing before it would transfer the remains to another funeral home.
“They’re trying to charge me for transportation, embalming and viewing my son’s body, and they weren’t supposed to do any of that because I told them not to pick him up,” Watkins said.
The funeral director at Urban Undertakers Legacy & Cremation gave a different account. The director said Watkins visited the funeral home, presented identification and signed paperwork authorizing services. According to the director, Watkins later returned and instructed the staff to move ahead with the arrangements.
“I asked her 10 times, ‘What would you like for us to do?’ before she incurred any other charges beyond the removal fee,” the director said. “Then she said, ‘You guys can proceed with what we already got planned.’”
The funeral home also said Hunter’s father wanted the services to remain there. The director said the parents’ conflicting wishes left the business uncertain about whether it could release the body or continue the arrangements. The director said Missouri law gives both parents authority in decisions involving their son’s remains, though no court ruling in the family’s dispute was provided.
A receptionist for the funeral home said Watkins did not initially tell employees that she was undecided or needed the arrangements placed on hold. The receptionist said staff members believed they were acting under the authorization already provided.
“Had she said, ‘I’m hesitant. I’m unsure. I don’t know what I want to do. I need to speak with the family,’ she didn’t give us any disclaimer of hold or wait or pause,” the receptionist said.
Police who responded to the funeral home told the family that the parents could reach an agreement about the arrangements or take the dispute to civil court, according to the accounts provided. No civil case or final agreement was identified in the available information.
The disagreement arose as Hunter’s family was mourning his death in the July 10 shooting on a MetroBus in Breckenridge Hills. Hunter and 52-year-old Rashad Rice were fatally shot aboard the bus near St. Charles Rock Road and Wismer Road.
Authorities arrested 20-year-old Christopher Irving in connection with the killings. Police said Irving was taken to the St. Louis County Justice Center and held on a $1 million bond after being accused of two counts of murder. The charges are allegations, and guilt must be determined in court.
It remained unclear whether Hunter’s parents had reached an agreement, whether the funeral home had released his remains or whether either side had filed a civil action. The competing claims about authorization also had not been resolved by a court.
Author note: Last updated July 23, 2026.