Mortuary Worker Gets 15 Years for Online Body Parts Sale to Tattooed Client

Shocking Case: Mortuary Employee Sentenced for Selling Body Parts Online

Candace Chapman Scott, a 37-year-old mortuary worker from Alabama, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for selling human body parts, including fetuses, to Jeremy Lee Pauley, a heavily tattooed and pierced collector from Pennsylvania.

Between October 2021 and July 2022, Scott illegally obtained remains from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Anatomical Gift Program and her workplace, selling them to Pauley, whom she met through a Facebook group that openly discussed the sale of body parts. Pauley paid $10,625 for 24 boxes of body parts during this period.

The scheme was uncovered when investigators found body parts at Scott’s home, leading to her admission of the crimes, including swapping cremated ashes. The case profoundly impacted grieving families, such as the family of “Baby Lux,” who learned in court about the misdelivery of their child’s remains.

Pauley is currently awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in Pennsylvania to conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property. This case has exposed a dark network of body-snatching and trafficking, involving institutions like Harvard Medical School and the Arkansas mortuary.