Declared dead: A woman was found breathing heavily in the funeral home

A 74-year-old woman who was pronounced dead at a Nebraska nursing home was found alive and breathing upon arrival at a local funeral home, police said.

Constance Glantz was buried at the Mulberry Home in Waverly when she was pronounced dead at around 9:44 a.m. local time on Monday, CNN reported. She was then taken to the Butherus-Maser & Love Funeral Home in Lincoln, about 15 miles away, but as an employee at the facility was preparing her body, he noticed something strange.

Nearly two hours after nursing home staff declared him dead, Glantz appeared to be breathing.

“They immediately called 911,” said Deputy Ben Houchin.

Glantz was taken to a nearby hospital, where she remained alive for several hours.

“This is a very unusual case,” Houchin told reporters at a press conference. “I’ve been doing this for 31 years and it’s never gotten to this point.”

At around 4 p.m., Glantz was declared dead for the second time, KOLN reported. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Houchin said her death was “expected” given her condition. Since there was no evidence of foul play, the nursing home did not need to contact the coroner or police after her death, he added.

“A doctor has examined them over the last seven days and is ready to sign the death certificate. He confirms that there were no suspicious events at the time of death – everyone is fit,” said the deputy police chief.

Houchin noted that the incident is currently under investigation, but there is no evidence to date that the nursing home acted in bad faith in declaring Glantz dead.

“So far we have not been able to establish any criminal intent on the part of the nursing home, but the investigation is ongoing,” he said.