A person who allegedly bought human body parts on Facebook has been arrested. In June, a complaint to the East Pennsboro County Police in Pennsylvania reported that human remains were being sold on the social media platform. A month later they received a second call, and the caller reported possible human remains found in the basement of the house. They told police they found several 5-gallon (about 19-liter) buckets containing “human organs” and “human skin”.
The remains found after a search in the reported place, forensic medicine expert Dr. Wayne Ross, and allegedly these remains were indeed human, including half a head, a whole head with a decapitated skull, three brains, a liver, a pelvis, a piece of skin with a nipple attached, and four hands.
“The remains that were identified included human brain, heart, liver, skin and lungs,” police said in a statement. “Further investigation revealed that the suspect had purchased human remains via Facebook Messenger.”
Messages written by the suspect (Jeremy Pauley) to organize the purchase of body parts were found on his phone, police said. Reportedly, the source of the bodies was found as a result of an investigation into the supplier.
“An Arkansas investigation by the FBI in conjunction with the Arkansas State Police revealed that Candace Scott stole these body parts from an Arkansas morgue and shipped them for sale to Pennsylvania,” the police said. It was determined that it belonged to the University.”
District Attorney Seán M. McCormack said, “This is one of the strangest investigations I’ve ever encountered in my thirty-three years of prosecution. Just when I thought I had seen it all, a case like this arose.”
Jeremy Pauley was released on bail of just $50,000. Surprisingly, trafficking in human remains is not a recognized crime in the US, so it is not illegal.
In her book, “Will My Cat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions From Tiny Mortals About Death,” undertaker Caitlin Doughty states, “No federal law prohibits possession of human remains unless the remains are Native American. “It doesn’t prevent you from buying or selling them. Otherwise, it’s determined by each state whether you can sell human remains. At least 38 states have laws that should prevent the sale of human remains, but in reality the laws are vague, confusing, and randomly applied.”
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