Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #534

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
By Tom Boggioni
The widow of a 98-year-old World War II veteran who passed away in August -- and whose body was donated for scien- tific research -- was horrified to discover her late husband's remains were sold and used for an autopsy show at an Oregon hotel where atten- dees paid $500 to watch.
Adding insult to injury, the compa- ny his family selected to give his body to for research purpos- es -- Las Vegas- based firm Med Ed Labs -- in turn sold David Saunders to Death Science founder Jeremy Ciliberto for $10,000.
According to the report from the New York Times' Christine Hauser,
Saunders'
wife Elsie was horrified when she heard about the autopsy before a paying crowd at Portland, Oregon Marriott on October 17th.
"My impression, it was strictly for medical science, not that his body would be put on display," she stat- ed before admit- ting that after hearing where her husband ended
up,
she was "trying to get myself togeth- er," and called the whole incident "morbid."
According to the independent, Sau nders' body was displayed on a gurney in a con- ference room where "retired professor of anatomy Colin Henderson ... used a surgical knife to slice into his head, limbs
and
chest cavity, and removed his organs and brain. Audience mem- bers were invited to prod his body during the three- hour procedure."
Both reports note that his widow only found out after news of the event was broad- cast after King 5 News sent a reporter to observe.
Speaking with King 5 News, funeral director Mike Clark, of Baton Rouge, who prepared Saunders' body for his funeral admitted he was disgusted with what occurred.
"It makes me real- ly feel saddened that this gentle- man was not given the dignity and the respect
that he deserved and what he thought and what his family thought would happen to his body," he lamented.
Now fingers are being pointed between Med Ed Labs and Death Science's Ciliberto who claims they knew what he would be doing the veter- an's body which became part of his Oddities and Curiosities Expo.
Ciliberto "said his company Death Science made it clear they would be selling tickets and that the 'bodybroker' had provided an anatomist for the event."
In a statement to the press he said, "We understand that this event has caused undue stress for the family and we apologize for that."
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Widow Stunned After Doctor Uses Her Late Husband's Body For A ‘Morbid'
$500 Per Person Autopsy Show