The widow of a World War Two veteran of World War Two who died from COVID-19 at the age of 98 is furious that her husband was used to perform an autopsy for public viewing before a large audience of people who paid up to $500 each at a Portland hotel.
The body of David Saunders, 98, was dissected before a paying crowd in the conference room of a Marriott hotel in Portland, where a ‘cadaver class’ was put on by a group called Death Science.
According to its web site, Death Science ‘is an educational platform focused on the scientific fields of forensic, medical, and mortuary science’ that ‘collaborates with industry experienced professionals…to teach students around the world.’
Now Saunders’ widow says that the family never approved of a public for-profit ‘pay-per-view’ autopsy.
The image shows a live, pay per view autopsy which was held in a Portland, Oregon hotel on October 17th.
Dr. Colin Henderson, a former professor of anatomy at the University of Montana, Missoula, performed dissections on limbs and removed the organs. Tickets were up to $500
Death Science organized the event. According to its web site, Death Science ‘is an educational platform focused on the scientific fields of forensic, medical, and mortuary science’ that ‘collaborates with industry experienced professionals…to teach students around the world’
David Saunders (98), a World War Two veteran, was the corpse. He died from COVID-19 and donated it to science.
The 92-year-old widow, who declined to be identified, told KING-TV that she was ‘horrified’ that her husband was ‘treated like a piece of meat in front of a paying audience.’
The body was first given to Med Ed Labs, a Las Vegas-based for-profit company ‘established to provide medical and surgical education and training for the advancement of medical and surgical innovation.’
Med Ed Labs allows people to donate the remains of their loved ones to help them avoid the high costs of burial.
Jeremy Ciliberto, a macabre artist and founder of Death Science who organized the event known as the Oddities and Curiosities Expo, said he paid Med Ed Labs ‘north’ of $10,000 for each cadaver.
Ciliberto says Med Ed Labs was aware that Ciliberto had plans for the corpse.
The event was part of the “Oddities and Curiosities Expo”, which is a show that aims to attract “lovers of the unusual, strange, and bizarre”.
Jeremy Ciliberto, a macabre artist and founder of Death Science who organized the event known as the Oddities and Curiosities Expo, said he paid Med Ed Labs ‘north’ of $10,000 for each cadaver
But the chief medical examiner in Portland said this wasn’t true.
Kimberly DiLeo is the Multnomah County Medical Examinationiner. She stated that a supervisor at Med Ed Labs told her that the company didn’t know the body would be used in a live event.
DiLeo stated, “Their supervisor was not aware of the deceased being used in this event.”
‘We feel that this was not respectful and certainly not ethical.’
Ciliberto later stated to KING-TV that any concerns regarding the cadaver were always addressed by the laboratory.
“Again, again I am not in the lab, but I am the host.”
The Downtown Courtyard Marriott was initially supposed to host the cadaver classes, but DiLeo pressured it to be cancelled.
DiLeo tried again to persuade managers at the hotel not to allow the event to move to the Marriott Downtown Waterfront when the organizers did. The hotel refused.
‘We follow detailed protocols to protect safety…,’ Martin McAllister, the general manager of the Marriott Downtown Waterfront, told KING-TV.
“We are aware that there are concerns about a recent event. We are investigating them further. However, as a matter privacy, we don’t discuss the names of guests or groups.
The live autopsy on Saunders’ body was performed for an audience at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront on October 17, KING 5 News was first to report.
One attendee said that a corpse covered in a white sheet was placed on the table in the middle of the ballroom.
VIP customers who paid $500 per ticket sat in first row just a few inches from each other.
Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired professor of anatomy who taught at the University of Montana in Missoula, removed the sheet from the body, exposing the corpse of a man who ‘had donated his body to science.’
Henderson used a surgical knife to remove the head, chest cavity, and limbs.
The brain was removed by the former professor. During the lengthy procedure Henderson explained to the audience that this is exactly how he taught medical students during his academic career.
Two people who witnessed the show told KING 5 TV Henderson was respectful towards the corpse.
One attendee, who goes by the name “Monica”, said that it was very educational.
“It was very respectful of the person who donated their body.”
Christine, a Portland resident said that they aren’t doing anything that would make me upset if it were my family member.
Due to public reactions, a similar event that was scheduled to take place in Seattle on Halloween was cancelled.