East Pennsboro Township Police have arrested a man they said was allegedly purchasing and selling human remains on Facebook.
According to police, on June 14, 2022, officers received a call for an Enola man allegedly buying body parts on Facebook.
Police Found Buckets of Human Organs in Pauley's Basement
Police say they spoke with 40-year-old Jeremy Pauley who said he was a collector of "oddities" and that he had three full skeletons and approximately 15-20 human skulls. Police say these items were "very old and came from a legitimate purchase."
On July 8, police received a call from someone who found five buckets of human organs and skin in a basement. East Pennsboro Police Detectives, Cumberland County Forensics, and the Cumberland County Coroners' office executed a search warrant on the residence and found 3-5 gallon buckets containing various human remains.
According to court records, the buckets contained two human brains, skin, a heart, kidney, spleen, fat, skull with hair, two livers, six pieces of skin/fat, a trachea, a child mandible with teeth, and two lungs.
Pauley Bought the Human Remains from Woman Who Stole from Mortuary
Further investigation found that Pauley was allegedly buying human remains via Facebook Messenger from a woman in Arkansas. Police say Pauley bought $4,000 worth of body parts consisting of half a head, a whole head minus the skull cap, three brains with skull cap, one heart, one liver, one lung, two kidneys, one full female pelvis, one piece of skin with a nipple, and four hands.
The woman, identified as Candace Scott, is accused of stealing the body parts from a mortuary associated with the University of Arkansas.
"We have a contract with Arkansas Central Mortuary Services to take the bodies for cremation after they are no longer being used by our students," Leslie Taylor, a spokesperson for University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), told Fox News Digital in a statement. "An employee of the mortuary service is under investigation by federal authorities for taking some human remains from the mortuary that were donated to UAMS. We are saddened and appalled that this happened."
A shipment of body parts was later intercepted in Scranton, Pennsylvania, according to police.
Pauley was arrested and released on $50,000 bail on charges of felony Dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, felony receiving stolen property, misdemeanor receiving stolen property, and misdemeanor abuse of a corpse. A preliminary hearing for Pauley is set for Sept 14.
