On Monday morning, the 74-year-old woman, Constance Glantz, was pronounced dead at the Nebraska nursing home where she had been in hospice care and was then transferred to a nearby funeral home. 

Approximately two hours later, staff at Butherus-Maser & Love Funeral Home began tending to her body when they noticed she was still breathing and called 911. 

According to the BBC, emergency services attended, and CPR was performed on Ms Glantz before she was quickly taken to hospital, only to be declared dead for a second time soon after. 

Police are investigating the incident, with Chief Deputy Ben Houchin from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office telling media it is "a very unusual case". 

"Been doing this 31 years, and nothing like this has ever gotten to this point before."

Houchin explained that Ms Glantz's death had been anticipated, and a coroner had not been sent to the nursing home after Ms Glantz had been declared her dead. 

"A physician had seen her in the last seven days, and the physician was willing to sign the death certificate, and... there was nothing suspicious at the time of the death," Houchin said. 

Chief Deputy Houchin told reporters that on Tuesday at around 16:00 local time, Ms Glantz had been pronounced dead for a second time, and a post-mortem examination had been scheduled for later on Tuesday.

"The funeral home did absolutely nothing wrong," Mr Houchin added. "They are the ones who found that she was still alive."