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Kim Erick is convinced the body is that of her son Chris. (Image: NC)
A Texas mother has spoken of the devastating moment she became convinced that her dead son’s skinned and plastinated body was being exhibited to the public in a Las Vegas anatomy show. Kim Erick, 54, insists one of the preserved cadavers displayed as “The Thinker” in the Real Bodies exhibition at the Horseshoe hotel was her 23-year-old son, Chris Todd Erick, who died in suspicious circumstances in 2012.
Ms Erick described the unbearable pain of seeing photographs of the exhibit, saying: “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.”
Chris Erick's mum Kim (Image: NC)
Chris was found dead at his grandmother’s house in Midlothian, Texas, on November 10, 2012. Police initially informed Ms Erick that he had suffered two heart attacks caused by a heart defect and died in his sleep.
Two days later, she viewed his body at a local funeral home before his father and grandmother arranged cremation. She later received only a necklace containing a small amount of ashes.
Doubting the official account, Ms Erick obtained police scene photographs which she says revealed bruises, lacerations, restraining marks and dry cyanide salt on his lips.
A subsequent blood test found lethal levels of cyanide, and the cause of death was changed to cyanide toxicity. Despite a 2014 murder investigation by an Ellis County grand jury, no charges were brought, and the death was eventually ruled a suicide by undetermined means.
Chris and Kim Erick (Image: NC)
Years later, while researching her son’s distinctive skull fracture, Ms Erick came across images of “The Thinker” in the Real Bodies exhibition.
She says the plastinated specimen displayed the same right-temple fracture and other recognisable features, although the area where Chris’s shoulder tattoo had been was shaved away – something she claims was done deliberately to conceal identity.
Ms Erick launched a campaign for DNA testing on the specimen, but exhibition organisers insisted the body had been legally sourced from China, had been on display for over 20 years and could not be linked to her son.
Shortly after her allegations surfaced, she says the figure was removed from the Las Vegas show and reportedly sent to Union City, Tennessee, where its trail went cold.
Chris Erick was found dead at his grandmother's house in 2012 (Image: NC)
Undeterred, Ms Erick continues to demand answers, saying: “Chris was never abandoned in life, and I don’t want him abandoned in death either.”
She has also called for DNA testing on 300 piles of unidentified human cremains discovered in the Nevada desert in July, in case plastination residues are present.
Real Bodies organisers have repeatedly stated there is “no factual basis” for the claims and extended sympathy to the family. The Midlothian Police Department confirmed to The Sun that multiple reviews found no evidence of foul play.
After 13 years of grief and investigation, Ms Erick remains resolute: “I don’t want anyone else to go through what my family has gone through.”
English (US) · 