US Woman Indicted For Selling Foetuses, Hearts And Lungs On Facebook

A woman in the US, who used to work at a mortuary, has been accused of selling 20 boxes of human body parts to a man she met on Facebook. Candace Chapman Scott, from Arkansas, stole skull, bones and teeth from a medical school and sold them to a Pennsylvania man for $11,000, according to court documents, according to New York Post. The April 5 indictment, unsealed on Friday in federal court, said Ms Scott met the man through a Facebook group called 'Oddities' and sold the stuff to him online.

Ms Scott is in jail and has pleaded not guilty to 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, and interstate transportation of stolen property, the outlet further said in the report.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to decide whether Ms Scott will be released on bail.

Metro said the 36-year-old worked at Arkansas Central Mortuary Services, where part of her job was to transport, cremate and embalm remains.

She is also accused of approaching the man in October 2021, offering him "a fully intact, embalmed brain".

The man has not been named in the federal indictment, but separate charges in Pennsylvania identified him as Jeremy Lee Paula, as per the outlet.

The financial transactions between Ms Scott and the man went on for nine months during which she sold him foetuses, hearts, genitalia, lungs, skin, brains and other body parts.

Prosecutors want Ms Scott to remain in prison till the trial, Metro reported citing a report in Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Judge J Thomas Ray admitted the alleged conduct is "shocking and depraved". However, she is not alleged to be dangerous, so the judge can only order her jail if she is a flight risk.