A funeral director who failed to embalm the body of a woman whose family paid for the service has told the Supreme Court he “is not a heartless person”, after images of the woman’s decomposed body were shown in court.
Helen Moraitis, 56, died on June 27, 2022, and her body was cleared by the coroner for release on July 7. But contractors for Peter Tziotzis’ Orthodox Funeral Services did not collect the body until July 18.
Funeral director Peter Tziotzis arrives at the Supreme Court on Monday.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Tziotzis is suing Nine’s A Current Affair and The Age for defamation over reports that appeared when Moraitis’ family had her body exhumed in November 2022. The body was found in a blue body bag naked and without jewellery.
On Thursday, day four of the defamation trial, Tziotzis denied stealing or deliberately retaining clothing and jewellery found at his funeral home by police. He said he did not mislead Moraitis’ mother, Teresa Moraitis, about the condition of her daughter’s body.
“I have a heart,” Tziotzis told the court. “I am not a heartless person. I need to relay that to you … as a human being and a business owner for 17 years.”
When asked about his past, including prior offences, Tziotzis said he had “skeletons in my closet” but that everyone did.
The court was also shown images of Tziotzis’ funeral home and the embalming room, which had a re-fashioned toilet bowl Tziotzis said was used to drain human blood in.
A lawyer for Nine, the owner of The Age, began asking Tziotzis questions about the toilet bowl, but the funeral director’s lawyers objected.
Nine’s lawyer told the judge the line of questioning was relevant because it explored how Tziotzis treated bodies.
Earlier this week, Tziotzis confirmed he did not look at Helen Moraitis’ body until five weeks after her death, but he said decomposition was not something that could be managed.
He told the court that keeping bodies in a refrigerated room did not slow decomposition, and he did this only because it was “common practice” and to help the embalmer do her work because it was easier to prepare a cool body over a warm body.
Before the court broke for lunch on Thursday, the judge told both parties the court could assist in proving a judicial mediation.
“I think there should be a serious attempt to try and resolve this proceeding,” he said.
The trial is expected to hear from witnesses including the Moraitis family and former and current employees of Tziotzis.
The case continues.
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