A Pennsylvania man who was found with gallon buckets of body parts in his basement, and allegedly bought $11,000 worth of stolen body parts from a medical school is on bail, despite being involved in one of the "most bizarre investigations" a prosecutor has seen in more than 30 years.
Jeremy Lee Pauley, 40, of Enola, Pennsylvania, was found with three five-gallon buckets in his basement by law enforcement after complaints about Pauley triggered the search. Among the remains were human brains, hearts, livers, skin and lungs.
This was also when officials uncovered a scheme which saw a former mortuary worker selling Pauley boxes of stolen body parts. It's alleged that 36-year-old Candace Chapman Scott sold Pauley 20 boxes of body parts which had been stolen from a mortuary having come from a nearby medical school after being donated as cadavers for medical students to examine.
"This is one of the most bizarre investigations I have encountered in my thirty-three years as a prosecutor," District Attorney Seán M McCormack said in a statement after the discovery.
"Just when I think I have seen it all, a case like this comes around."
Pauley has been charged with a misdemeanour count of abuse of a corpse, one felony count of receiving stolen property, a misdemeanour count of receiving stolen property, and a felony count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities. He is currently free on bail, with his preliminary hearing repeatedly delayed, according to court records, and now scheduled for June 7.
Scott, from Little Rock, Arkansas, has pleaded not guilty after being charged with selling 20 boxes of stolen body parts from medical school cadavers for almost $11,000 (£8,789).
The incident was revealed for the in detail in federal court on Friday, April 28, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Scott has been accused of setting up transations with Pauley having met through a Facebook group about 'oddities'.
The proposed buyer was not identified in the federal indictment against Scott, however separate state charges in Pennsylvania name him as Jeremy Lee Pauley.
During her time as a mortuary worker, Scott was employed at the Arkansas Central Mortuary Services - part of her job was to transport, creamate and embalm people's remains. According to the Univeristy of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, that's where the medical school sent remains of cadavers that had been donated for medical students to examine and learn from.
According to the indictment, Scott allegedly approached Pauley in October 2021, offering to sell him remains from the medical school that the mortuary had been supposed to cremate and return.
The indictment alleged Scott sent Pauley a first message saying: "Just out of curiosity, would you know anyone in the market for a fully intact, embalmbed brain?"
Over the next nine months, the indictment alleges Scott sold Pauley everything from foetuses, to brains, hearts, lungs, even genetalia, large pieces of skin and other body parts.
At one point, the indictment alleges Scott sold the remains of a foetus at a discounted price, saying "he's not in great shape."
Over the course of 16 separate PayPal transfers, the indictment alleges Scott collected a total of $10,975.
The former mortuary worker, from Little Rock, pleaded not guilty to 12 counts - including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit internstate transportation of stolen property, and interstate transportation of stolen property.
Scott has been remanded in custody, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, May 2, to decide whether she will be released.
Prosecutors are arguing Scott should remain behind bars until a trial begins, with Assistant US Attorney Amanda Jegley telling US Magistrate Judge J Thomas Ray in Friday's hearing that facing a lengthy prison sentence could motivate Scott to flee.
"I think that the facts... underlying the indictment and in the indictment are uniquely egregious and objectionable and we believe there is going to be some significant public outcry as a result of this," Jegley explained.
Judge Ray called the alleged conduct "shocking and depraved", but while Scott isn't alleged to be dangerous, federal rules say he can only order her to remain in jail if she's a flight risk.
Leslie Taylor, a spokeswoman for the medical university told a local paper on Friday that officials are grateful federal authorities charged Scott. She called the people who donate their bodies for medical research "true heroes", and said they are the biggest victims in the crime due to the role their donations play in medical education.
According to Taylor, the FBI has not told school officials if any of the remains have been identified. She explained embalming damages DNA, making identification "extremely difficult".
