Candace Chapman Scott, a 36-year-old former mortuary worker from Arkansas, is accused of a “shocking and depraved” crime: selling body parts from medical school remains to a man she met through a Facebook group for $11,000. Scott pleaded not guilty to 12 charges in the case, including mail fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors are asking the court to keep Scott in custody before her trial; they cite the egregious nature of the accusations as cause to keep her behind bars. Scott allegedly sold the man 20 boxes of body parts – which included, per the indictment, fetuses, brains, hearts, lungs, genitalia, and large pieces of skin – and received PayPal transfers of $1,600 per transaction for a total of $10,975.
The man accused of purchasing the remains, Jeremy Lee Pauley, is facing charges in Pennsylvania for abuse of a corpse, receiving stolen property, and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.
Scott was employed at Arkansas Central Mortuary Services, a funeral home that sends cadavers to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock for medical students to examine. Allegedly, in October 2021, Scott began offering Pauley remains that the mortuary was responsible for cremating.
Leslie Taylor, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences spokeswoman, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that university officials have yet to be informed whether any remains were identified. Because embalming damages DNA, identification is difficult. According to Taylor, the medical school still contracts with Arkansas Central Mortuary Services.