A museum has responded to accusations from a mother who claims a body in their exhibit resembles her deceased son.
Kim Erick was alarmed upon visiting the Real Bodies exhibition in Las Vegas, as she believed one of the bodies on display bore a strong resemblance to her son, Chris Todd Erick, who died at the age of 23 in 2012 under circumstances officially deemed as suicide.
Initially, it was thought that Chris had succumbed to two heart attacks in his sleep, attributed to a heart defect while at his grandmother’s house.
However, Kim has raised doubts about this conclusion after obtaining case materials from the police, which she says included images of a chair with straps.
Kim mentioned that Chris’s father, her ex-husband, was responsible for handling the cremation because of her overwhelming grief, and she received a necklace containing a small amount of ashes shortly after Chris’s body was discovered.
Despite this, Kim asserts that there was no funeral and sought photographs from the Midlothian Police Department taken at the scene.
She claims that Chris’s body exhibited bruises and lacerations, along with what appeared to be dry cyanide salt on his lips.
Eventually, a vial of his blood was tested, revealing a lethal dose of cyanide, prompting a change in the cause of death to cyanide toxicity.
Chris’s death was categorized as a suicide by ‘undetermined means’, yet Kim has persistently sought further clarity on the matter.
Her distress intensified upon encountering a body she was convinced was her son’s.
The 54-year-old shared with The Sun: “I knew it was him. It was so unbelievably painful to look at. My words cannot describe how this shook me and my family to its core.
“I was actually looking at pictures of my son’s skinned, butchered body. It is gut-wrenching.”
The Real Bodies exhibition in Las Vegas responded to The Sun, stating: “There is no factual basis for these allegations,” and expressed their condolences, emphasizing that the specimen in question could not be linked to the person mentioned in Kim’s claims.
Imagine Exhibitions, Inc, which operates Real Bodies, reiterated to Lead Stories: “We extend our sympathy to the family, but there is no factual basis for these allegations. The referenced specimen has been on continuous display in Las Vegas since 2004 and cannot be associated with the individual named in these claims.
“All specimens are ethically sourced and biologically unidentifiable. We remain committed to ensuring that all exhibits meet the highest ethical and legal standards.”