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Texas mom believed she found 'proof' 'body of son who died was displayed in Vegas museum'
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A mother who claims that her son's dead body is being used in a museum display without her consent claims she has 'proof' it is really him.
As previously reported, Kim Erick claims that the Real Bodies exhibition in Las Vegas has been showcasing what she believes are the plastinated remains of her son, 23-year-old Chris Todd Erick, who died in 2012.
Chris’s death was officially ruled a suicide after a toxicology report found a lethal amount of cyanide in his system, after authorities had initially believed he'd died in his sleep at his grandmother’s home after suffering two heart attacks linked to a heart defect, per Yahoo.
Kim claimed that police photographs from the scene of Chris's death had further fueled her suspicions that something untoward had happened before his death, as she claimed they showed bruises, lacerations, and what appeared to be a chair fitted with straps.
Kim claims that she never had the chance to hold a funeral for her son, alleging that her ex-partner, Chris’s father, arranged a cremation for him while she was in shock and grieving.
A 2014 homicide investigation ultimately produced no evidence of foul play, but the ordeal was not over for the grieving mother, who claims she found his body at the Real Bodies exhibit in 2018.
She became convinced that one of the figures - known as The Thinker - was actually the skinned and preserved remains of her late son.
"I knew it was him," she told The Sun. "It was unbelievably painful. My words cannot describe how this shook me and my family to its core. I was looking at pictures of my son’s skinned, butchered body. It is gut-wrenching."
She claimed that certain marks and features on the body were "proof" that it was indeed Chris, telling the outlet: "I started looking online for the deep skull fracture I saw in Chris’s right temple of his head when he died.
"When I saw the plastinated body online in the news article with this same skull fracture… it was too painful to look closer."
She also pointed out that Chris had a tattoo on his shoulder and that the spot where it sat on his body had been shaved away - something that is unusual for plastinated bodies.
However, despite Kim's claims, the museum responded to rebutt the allegations that the body was Chris's, stating that The Thinker was created long before Chris had died.
The exhibition’s owner, Imagine Exhibitions, Inc., issued a statement to Lead Stories, saying: "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.”
The company has previously stated that its plastinated bodies were sourced from China and entered the exhibit over 20 years ago – long before Chris’s death.
Lead Stories also found archived photos of the specimen that predate 2012, supporting the museum’s timeline, and noted that the plastination process can take up to a year, making it impossible for Chris’s body to have entered the exhibit so soon after his death.
Kim continues to search for answers, but there is so far no evidence connecting her son's body to the Real Bodies exhibition.