Officers in the US state of Pennsylvania have arrested a 40-year-old named Jeremy Lee Pauley for allegedly trying to buy stolen human remains from an Arkansas woman.
According to reports, the human remains were stolen from the Arkansas Central Mortuary Services in Little Rock. Jeremy Lee Pauley was trying to buy them from a female employee of the mortuary named Candace Scott.
Additional reports say Jeremy Lee Pauley intended to sell the parts on Facebook.
Pauley, who described himself as a “collector of oddities” initially told the police that the human body parts were legally obtained. Apparently, there are some aspects of the sale of body parts or bones that are legal in the United States, as confirmed by Sean McCormack, district attorney for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
The police indeed found older human remains including complete skeletons in Pauley’s possession that they confirmed were legally obtained. Pauley was only arrested when the police returned to his home after receiving another tip about newer remains he had recently purchased.
In Pauley’s home, the police found three 5-gallon buckets containing assorted human body parts, including those of children. Law agents later intercepted additional packages of body parts which Pauley had ordered from the Arkansas woman for $4,000.
Jeremy Lee Pauley was arrested on July 22 and has been charged with abuse of a corpse, and receiving stolen property, among other charges. Pauley told investigators that he was buying the human parts in order to resell them at a higher price.
The news has led to heated discussions on social media and burning questions like “Who buys body parts of dead humans and what are the parts being used for?”
