Candace Chapman Scott: Woman arrested after she sold boxes of body parts to a Pennsylvania man
PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS: An Arkansas woman, who is accused of selling stolen body parts from dead patients at a medical school to a Pennsylvania man she met on social media for $11,000, entered a not-guilty plea. Candace Chapman Scott, a former mortuary worker, of selling 20 cartons of body parts to a man she met through a Facebook group about "oddities."
Scott entered a not-guilty plea to 12 counts, including conspiracy to engage in mail fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen goods, and interstate transportation of stolen property, as reported by PennLive.
READ MORE
Is Squid Game REAL? Inside China's HORRIFIC 'kill to order' organ-trafficking trade
She is still detained while she waits for a hearing on Tuesday to determine whether or not she will be granted bail. The federal indictment did not name the man who is accused of buying the remains. However, in different state charges, he was named as Jeremy Lee Pauley, as per reports.
Scott was employed by the funeral home Arkansas Central Mortuary Services, where part of her duties included embalming, cremating, and transporting remains. The funeral home is where the medical school transferred the remains of cadavers that had been given for medical students to examine, according to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, as reported by Fox News.
Scott allegedly sold Pauley fetuses, brains, hearts
According to the police records, Scott wrote to Pauley in her first Facebook message, "Just out of curiosity, would you know anyone in the market for a fully intact, embalmed brain?" Scott allegedly sold Pauley fetuses, brains, hearts, lungs, genitalia, big chunks of skin, and other body parts over the course of the following nine months. According to the indictment, Scott allegedly offered a discount on the sale of a fetus's remains in one instance because "he's not in great shape."
Scott allegedly promised Pauley "2 brains, one with skullcap, 3 hearts, one cut, 2 fake b**bies, one large belly button piece of skin, [one] arm, one huge piece of skin, and one lung" for $1,600 in another communication from December 2, 2021, according to the indictment. The very same day, Pauley sent Scott a $1,600 payment via PayPal.
According to the indictment, Scott received $10,975 via 16 different PayPal transfers. According to the prosecution, Scott ought to be imprisoned until her trial. On Friday, April 28, Assistant Attorney Amanda Jegley warned Magistrate Judge J Thomas Ray that Scott might run away if he faced a lengthy jail term.
'Indictment are uniquely egregious and objectionable'
Jegley said, "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," as reported by ABC. The claims against Scott, according to Ray, are "shocking and depraved." However, since Scott is not deemed dangerous, the judge can only order her to stay in jail if doing so would pose a flight risk.
Ray said, "The indictment alleges horribly egregious conduct, shocking conduct. But under the Bail Reform Act, those aren't factors that I consider for dangerousness that goes to danger to the community or risk of the community. As shocking and depraved as the alleged conduct is, none of that would go toward dangerousness so the only thing I see here that would support a request for detention is obviously flight risk."
After receiving complaints last year regarding Pauley, Pennsylvania officials learned of the transactions. In Pennsylvania, Pauley is accused with misdemeanor counts of mistreatment of a body, receiving stolen property while committing a crime, receiving stolen property while committing a misdemeanor, and dealing in the proceeds of illegal activity. His preliminary hearing is planned for June 7, and he is out on bail, as per reports.