A Texas mother who claims that she discovered her son’s body as part of a museum exhibit after his death has asked for DNA evidence to prove that she is wrong.
The museum has issued a statement that it claims shows that the body in question is not her son, but she is asking for more proof.
Chris Todd Erick died in 2012
At the center of this unusual story is Chris Todd Erick, the son of 54-year-old Kim Erick.
Chris died in 2012 aged 23 and his death was ruled as a suicide.
However, there were some bits of evidence that made Kim suspicious that something else may have happened.
She claims that she saw photos from the police that showed bruises, lacerations, and what seemed to be a chair with straps - giving rise to her theory that something violent took place before her son’s death.
Still, authorities ruled that he died by suicide after a toxicology report showed a lethal dose of cyanide in his system.
What’s more, Kim claims she never got to have a funeral for her son as an ex-partner held an unexpected cremation.
That’s tough enough for a mother to take, but years later Kim believes that she discovered the remains of her son as part of a Real Bodies exhibit in Las Vegas.
Kim was visiting the exhibit - which featured preserved real human specimens - in 2018 and saw a figure known as ‘The Thinker’.
Immediately she became convinced it was her son.
She told 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 Museum is adamant that it cannot be her son
The owner of the exhibition, Exhibitions Inc. has issued a statement denying and refuting the claims outright.
The company said: “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.”
They also added that the specimen was sourced from China and became part of the exhibit around 20 years ago, crucially when Chris was still alive.
There are also photos of the exhibit from before 2012, supporting that argument.
Could there be another potential answer?
Now, Kim is also exploring the possibility that her son could be among those whose remains were discovered when piles of ash turned up in the Nevada desert back in July.
She wants to see those remains tested and identified as well as to check whether there are any signs of the plastination process that Real Bodies uses on specimens.
She said: “I’d like to see the 300 piles of human cremains tested for DNA to determine who these people were.
“Test them for any signs of plastination materials that might be present in the remains.”