Clean-Up Company Posted TikToks of Vet’s Suicide. His Kids Saw Them, Widow Says.
A widow is suing a crime-scene cleanup company that allegedly posted videos and photos of her husband’s suicide scene to social media, saying she only became aware of the footage when her children viewed it online in horror.
Michelle Lynn Syers filed a lawsuit in Florida seeking a minimum of $30,000 in damages from Spaulding Decon, which she hired in 2020 after her veteran husband, U.S. Army Maj. Thomas Syers, took his own life in their home.
Syers claims Spaulding Decon posted videos of the suicide scene to social media sites like TikTok despite never asking for permission to record them.
Spaulding Decon, which says it specializes in “quick, efficient, and affordable decontamination services,” operates in 18 states and is based in Tampa. The company frequently posts videos of their work to social media and YouTube, where it has garnered 830,000 subscribers.
“This conduct by Defendant was so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree that it is considered atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community,” Syers’ lawsuit says.
The lawsuit did not detail the exact contents of the videos, but said they included footage from inside and outside the house, which was apparently identifiable in the posted video.
Syers’ children, identified by their initials, had never seen what happened to their father before Spaulding Decon posted videos, the lawsuit says. Once they came across it online, however, they suffered “mental and emotional distress” to a degree that required medical treatment.
A Spaulding Decon spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the company’s “been advised by legal counsel not to comment about this matter at this time.”
Spaulding Decon did not acknowledge questions about the company’s policy for posting videos of crime scenes online. But the nature of its posts show that it specializes in gory imagery; its most-watched YouTube video, posted three years ago with 3.6 million views, is titled “Tub with chunks of flesh,” followed by the video “Pop Goes the Body.”
The Daily Beast could not see the video online Thursday, and Syers could not be reached for comment at numbers listed in her name.
An online obituary for Thomas Syers said he was a Chicago native and combat veteran who served first in the U.S. Navy and then the Army. After retiring as a major, he was a member of his church band in Florida. When he died at 53, he left behind his wife of 16 years and six kids.
“He was a true patriot who served his country extensively and in various roles,” said the obituary. “…He loved God, his country and his family.”
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741
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