A Texas woman named Kim Erik (54) is in a state of shock after she identified what she believes are the remains of her late son, Chris, among the exhibits at the 'Real Bodies' exhibition in Las Vegas. The exhibition features human bodies preserved in plastic as educational 'sculptures.' Kim did not visit the exhibition in person but spent years studying its photos online. It was there that she found a body with the same violent fracture on the right side of the skull that she saw at her son's death scene in 2012. 'I knew him from the first moment… It was an unbearable feeling, looking at my son's body, skinned, cut up, with people taking pictures next to it,' the crying mother said. At the time, police told the mother her son 'died peacefully in his sleep,' while his father quickly arranged for the body to be cremated without a funeral or consulting the mother. She was later handed an amount of ash she was told were her son's remains, but she never believed the story. After persistent pressure from Kim, the investigation was reopened. Shocking images from the death scene revealed bruises and signs of restraint on Chris's arms, chest, and stomach, and a toxicology report later found a lethal dose of cyanide in his blood. 'I want my son back to me, even if his body is now just plastic. I want him to rest in a real grave.' The case highlights the ongoing debate over the ethics of exhibiting real human bodies and questions about the source of the corpses, especially those from China amid old accusations that some may belong to prisoners or victims of forced disappearances, reopening calls for greater transparency in such exhibitions worldwide. According to experts, tattoos usually remain clear after the plastination process because the ink penetrates deep layers of skin. The 'Real Bodies' exhibition has denied the accusations, stating all samples 'imported from China and are not biologically identifiable' and that the show is committed to 'the highest ethical and legal standards' in obtaining and processing the bodies.
