Or refused to admit the real cause of death? There were suspicions in my school that one of my classmates died of suicide. He was a stoner kid, real weird but cool and the other hand. One day he just disappeared and the parents said he drop out and didn't want to attend school and moved as exchange student abroad but it seemed strange that he also broke up from a few friends and never talked to them again.
Is it possible to avoid a funeral?
Sounds like he ctb'd. And I suspect the family was abusive and were more concerned with manipulating others' perceptions of them rather than of the ctb-er.
It is possible to avoid a funeral, one is not required. I think my parents will not have one, which is good because I don't want an obituary or service. They have a story for their friends and our extended family that all is lovey-dovey.
Get this.... My parents chose to stop speaking to me many years ago for calling out abuse, they told me goodbye, included their pets in the signature. But a couple years ago, my mother used a 30-year old photo of her and I as her Facebook profile photo, getting all these likes and comments, including a comment from the woman who threw the function. My mother replied, "
We still thank you for it." I assume an obit or funeral would be quite inconvenient for them. In fact my being gone is more to their advantage.
Edit: In answer to your question about not admitting ctb, it is very common. A boyfriend in HS ctb'd by gunshot. His family said he had a brain clot that caused it. My dad was a death investigator, his response was that of course there are clots of blood at the scene. He said blaming another cause and scapegoating are also common in ctbs. I was scapegoated by peers.