Yahoo News Missing Canadian pianist 'buried by wrong family'
A Canadian musician known as "Professor Piano" is believed to have been buried by the wrong family in a tragic case of mistaken identity.
Scott Cushnie, who played with bands including Aerosmith, went missing in August from his apartment in Toronto.
The 80-year-old, who was legally blind, suffered an accidental fall and died after being taken to hospital by ambulance.
His body was them wrongly identified and returned to the family of another missing man, and they held a funeral.
The second missing man, who has not been named, later turned up alive.
Andrea Reid, a friend of the musician, told Canadian television: "Last week I got a call from our lead detective that he believed he had found Scott, and he was no longer with us. And then he proceeded to tell me a tale that is something you wouldn't believe if you saw it on TV."
She added: "As I understand it he had a funeral, quite a nice one, and was buried, and that's where he's been this whole time. And their family member did return alive, and needless to say they had buried the wrong man.
"I'm sorry for laughing but I do believe Scott, wherever he is, is laughing as well. He had an incredible sense of humour."
Mitch Lewis, another friend of the musician, said: "Regardless of who the other gentleman is, it must be awful for that other family."
Friends of Scott Cushnie suspect the musician, who performed with Aerosmith and was known as “Professor Piano,” he died in a fall during a storm and that his body was wrongly identified. https://t.co/11KvmlBGDV
— TorontoStar (@TorontoStar) October 13, 2018
The buried man is now believed to be Mr Cushnie because he was carrying a key fob for the building where the pianist lived.
Dr Dirk Huyer, the chief coroner in the Canadian province of Ontario, said the body would be exhumed to fully confirm the mistake.
He told Canada's National Post: "We are aware of an apparent misidentification of a person who is buried. I am in the planning stages now of arranging disinterment so we can take the necessary steps to determine the identity of the person."
Mr Cushnie was not carrying his wallet or any identification when he went missing.
In a statement Canadian police said the family of the second missing man had positively, but mistakenly, identified Mr Cushnie's body as their relative.
Dr Huyer, the coroner, said: "We would not be in a position to doubt or question a family when they provide that identity to us."
