Something didn’t seem right about her nephew’s obituary. Anne Marie Aikins just couldn’t shake that feeling.
Kevin Patrick Krelove was a big guy with an even bigger heart. So when the 44-year-old Barrie chef passed away earlier this month due to internal injuries from a tobogganing accident, it left his family and friends in shock: “It was just completely unexpected and bizarre,” Aikins said.
The family was still trying to cope with their loss when, two days after his passing on Feb. 7, they found a link to an obituary shared among Krelove’s close friends and relatives. It was the top result on Google, according to Aikins.
A screenshot of Echovita’s obituary for Krelove, posted minutes after the funeral home shared initial details of his death, as stated by his family. The page was removed after relatives complained to the website.
Anne Marie Aikins
The site was called Echovita, and Aikins felt something was off right away. The page wasn’t linked to the funeral home and prominently displayed options for purchasing condolences-like paying to light a virtual candle or sending flowers for the funeral.
“I thought, ‘Geez, even funeral homes are trying to raise money,’” Aikins, former chief spokesperson for Metrolinx, told the Star. “Your judgment can get blurred a bit because of the pain of losing somebody, especially in such a shocking way.. so I ignored (the warning signs).”
It wasn’t until later that evening that the family figured out the site had no connection with Krelove or the funeral home. They say his information had been taken without their permission or knowledge within minutes of the funeral home posting its notification.
By then, several people had already purchased flowers or paid to light candles on this imitation site, Aikins noted. The thought that someone used her deceased nephew’s personal information for profit made her feel “infuriated.”
“He’s young and it was such a stupid accident. That people would exploit that feels just so, so awful; it’s hard to put into words,” Aikins said. “It just compounds the tragedy we’re experiencing and our grief.”
Kevin Patrick Krelove’s family struggled with his death from a tobogganing accident in February. Then they discovered his information on an unrecognized website.
Anne Marie Aikins
Initially, Aikins and her family suspected they were being scammed by this site and reported it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Criminologists state that fraudulent “obituary piracy” schemes have increased recently due in part to AI advancements.
However, lawyers and representatives from Echovita claim that it doesn’t appear illegal under current laws.
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