An Arkansas woman has pleaded guilty to charges related to stealing body parts from corpses and listing them for sale on Facebook.
Candace Chapman Scott, 37, was working at a mortuary when she stole at least 24 boxes of human body parts from medical school cadavers.
On Thursday, Scott pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.
The charges stemmed from Scott selling 24 boxes of human remains to Jeremy Pauley of Pennsylvania for $11,000. The body parts included fetuses, brains, hearts, lungs, genitalia, large pieces of skin, and more.
Scott reportedly sold Pauley the fetus at a discount, saying, “he’s not in great shape.”
According to a report from The Mirror, Pauley has “previously pleaded guilty to charges related to the theft and sale of body parts from both the Arkansas mortuary and Harvard Medical School.”
The report continues:
The connection between Scott and Pauley was reportedly established through a Facebook group focused on “oddities.” Scott was employed at Arkansas Central Mortuary Services, where her responsibilities included transporting, cremating, and embalming remains.
Prosecutors allege that she exploited her position to facilitate the illegal transactions. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock has confirmed that the medical school sent cadaver remains to the mortuary, intended for student examination.
According to prosecutors, Scott approached Pauley in October 2021 and began offering to sell him remains from the medical school that the mortuary was supposed to cremate and return. The indictment alleges Scott wrote to Pauley in her first Facebook message: “Just out of curiosity, would you know anyone in the market for a fully in tact, embalmed brain?”
Scott is facing up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for transporting stolen property and up to 20 years and a fine for the mail fraud charge, according to the report.
