University gave Catholic burial to Jehovah’s Witness who gave body for medical research

A woman who agreed to donate her body to the University of Malta’s anatomy department was buried a few days after her death – against her express wish – without her family even being informed.

Devout Jehovah’s witness Beryl Schembri, who passed away on 13 May last year, had signed an agreement with the University of Malta for her body to be donated  for anatomical research and study purposes.

However six days after she died, the University of Malta decided to bury Schembri’s body – most controversially, in an unmarked grave at the Addolorata Cemetery – without even informing her husband or any of their five children.

One of her daughters, Melissa, only got to know in October, five months after her death, that her mother had been buried after calling the university to enquire whether she could see the body.

“But when I called I got the shock of my life. I was told that I couldn’t see the body because they had buried her,” Melissa Schembri said.

“If I hadn’t called, we would still be in the dark about my mother’s burial,” a visibly distraught Schembri adds.

Schembri was told that the embalming process had not been successful and the anatomy department unilaterally decided to bury Beryl Schembri’s body.

University did not inform family of mother’s burial

“All I expected was a call from the university telling me that my mum would be buried. Getting to know that she was buried without us being there was like my mum’s second death. All I want now is a proper apology to put her to rest once and for all.”

To compound matters further, Beryl Schembri – as a devout Jehovah’s Witness – was buried with the Catholic rite in the presence of a priest and undertakers.

“It’s awkward to say the least for my mum to be buried by a priest,” her daughter says, adding that her mum was given an “undignified” burial in an unmarked grave.

Insisting that she has no intention to complicate matters further by seeking legal avenues, Melissa Schembri told MaltaToday that all the family wants is a formal apology by the university’s authorities.

Attempts to obtain the University of Malta’s comments proved futile as the anatomy department manager refused to speak over the phone and a member of the university’s legal office never provided a date for a meeting with the department. 

Schembri – born in the UK – died from pulmonary embolism one week before turning 80. She was taken to Mater Dei hospital after falling ill while receiving temporary treatment at Mount Carmel Hospital for mild depression.

Since Schembri died within a few hours of her admittance to Mater Dei, the health authorities ordered an autopsy. This should have led to the university to refuse the body since regulations clearly state that the university “cannot accept bodies after a post mortem nor after full organ donation – only exception is donation of corneas”.

Yet, Melissa Schembri was told that the university buried her mother after the embalming failed and was told by the manager of the anatomy department that it was within the university’s rights to bury the body.

“We do not dispute the decision but it’s shameful that my mother was buried without my father and any of my brothers and sisters being present. All we expected was a phone call informing us of the burial,” Melissa Schembri said.

She added that her father, Alfred, has since recanted a similar agreement he had with the University of Malta to donate his body for research purposes.

Melissa, their third eldest daughter, gave up her full-time job to care for her elderly parents, and now has to wait two years before she will be able to exhume her mother’s body.

Moreover, the family has no grave and Melissa says she will resume working and probably apply for a loan to be able to afford a family grave.
Graves at present come at a premium and when enquiring, Melissa Schembri was asked for up to €20,000 for one at the Addolorata Cemetery in Paola.

“One of the reasons my mum donated her body to the university was financial, because cremation is not available and we could not afford to buy a grave.”

For the time being, Melissa and her siblings, two of whom live abroad, will be able to at least put a tombstone on the unmarked grave but they still await an apology.