A Pennsylvania man has been charged with abuse of a corpse, receiving stolen property and other charges after police say he allegedly tried to buy stolen human remains from an Arkansas woman for possible resale on Facebook.
A spokeswoman for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock confirmed that the remains were transferred to the UAMS facility and sent to the mortuary for cremation. UAMS spokeswoman Leslie Taylor said the remains were sent to Central Arkansas Mortuary in Little Rock, where they were allegedly stolen by a mortuary employee and sold, adding that an open federal investigation is ongoing.
“We are very respectful of those who donate their bodies, and we are horrified that this could happen,” Taylor said.
A representative for the morgue hung up on a reporter who reached out for comment Thursday.
Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the FBI in Little Rock, said the office is aware of the incident in Pennsylvania “but will not comment on the ongoing investigation.” As of Thursday, the Arkansas woman had not been charged.
Police in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania announced the arrest and charges against Jeremy Lee Pauley, 40, of Enola, Pennsylvania. Pauli was arrested on July 22 and appeared in court on Thursday.
Calls to the attorney representing Pauley were not returned late Thursday. Pauley was released on $50,000 bond, according to court records.
On a Facebook page under his name, Pauly posted photos of bags and stacks of femurs, one of which read: “Picked up more medical bones to sort out.” The Facebook page he uses to sell his body parts is called “The Big Wonder Camera,” “”Vendors of the weird and unusual, museum exhibits, guest lectures, live entertainment and more! Amazing, curious and unique in every way!” It also includes a link to his website.
“I think I’ve seen it all, and then something like this comes along,” said Sean McCormack, the district attorney for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, where Pawley was charged. “The question we had to answer was: Is the sale of body parts or bones still illegal … or legal? Some of them, to our surprise, were legal. And in the course of the investigation, it became clear that there is also illegal activity.”
Pauli, who described himself as a collector of what he called “oddities,” including human body parts, said the remains were purchased legally when police first contacted them, according to a police affidavit. Police initially found what they called old human remains, complete skeletons that they determined were obtained legally.
However, after a second tip about new remains at Pauley’s home, investigators returned to the home to find more recent purchases. Police found three five-gallon buckets containing various body parts — including those of children — and federal and state law enforcement intercepted packages addressed to Polly from an Arkansas woman that contained the body parts.
Pali told investigators he intended to resell the body parts, according to the affidavit. Investigators say Pauley arranged to pay an Arkansas woman $4,000 for the body parts via Facebook Messenger.
Associated Press writer Cantele Franco in Columbus, Ohio contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show that the remains had been transferred to the mortuary for cremation when they were allegedly taken, rather than that the remains were stolen en route to the university. This has also been corrected to show that the FBI representative is called Connor Hagan, not Connor.
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