Austin police said on Wednesday that they did not yet have a motive for a case involving abuse of a human corpse at a local mortuary. Severed arms at Capital Mortuary Services were injected with formaldehyde and studied in an experiment, according to an arrest affidavit.
“Part of the ongoing investigation is trying to understand why this would be a thing,” said police detective Bryce Bishop. “Through statements given there is a cost-saving aspect to it with embalming and making bodies last longer,” he said.
Adaline Bui, the owner of Capital Mortuary Services, and Aaron Ali, the chief executive officer of MedtoMarket, have been charged in the case. Bui has been charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with a government record. Ali has been charged with aggravated perjury and abuse of a corpse. Police believe that Ali provided Bui with the arms for the experiment, Bishop said.
Investigators didn’t find any of the severed limbs at the mortuary but have photos of two severed arms, Bishop said. They haven’t determined whether both of the arms belong to the unidentified victim, he said.
Bui also forged signatures on 129 death certificates, said Bishop. Investigators don’t believe that the arms used in the experiment came from the people whose death certificates were forged, he said. He said Bui also used her position as a real estate agent to get families to list their homes with her in order to pay for funeral expenses.
Anyone with concerns about the case is asked to contact Austin police victim services at (512) 974-5037 or email them at victim.services@austintexas.gov.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more details.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin police say motive unknown in case of corpse abuse at mortuary