LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Little Rock woman accused of selling stolen body parts will appear in federal court Wednesday for a bond hearing.
Candace Chapman Scott, 36, pleaded not guilty last Friday to all charges. She was held after her pleading pending bond assignment.
An indictment in the case shows Scott is accused of selling body parts to a person she met on Facebook through a group with an interest in “oddities” beginning in 2021. At the time she was working for a Little Rock mortuary service that cremated donated cadavers used by UAMS medical students.
Scott has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, three counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and interstate transportation of stolen property.
The indictment claims Scott reached out through Facebook Messenger to a member of the group to sell body parts. The document goes on to assert that an agreement was made for a series of transactions through PayPal for body parts.
Prosecutors allege those body parts included brains, fetal remains, skin and hearts, all sold between October 2021 and July 2022 for a total of $4,300.
The body parts were shipped to Enola, Pennsylvania. The name of the person who purchased the body parts is not included in Scott’s indictment.
In August 2022, Pennsylvania police arrested 40-year-old Jeremy Pauley of Enola for charges relating to purchasing body parts delivered from Arkansas.
Pauley operates The Memento Mori museum and calls himself “the lead preservation specialist of retired medical specimens and curator to historic remains and artifacts.”
He is currently charged in Pennsylvania with a misdemeanor count of abuse of a corpse, a felony count of receiving stolen property, a misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property and a felony count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities. He is free on bail.
Court records show Pauley’s preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for June 7 after repeated delays.