In March 2025, a mother brought attention to a 2018 Australian news article discussing controversies over plastinated human bodies at the “Real Bodies” exhibit in Horseshoe Las Vegas.

She wrote on Facebook, “This is where I saw Chris’ body for the first time. The article also mentions torture…”

Kim Erick Smith has been seeking justice for her son, Christopher Todd Erick, whom she believes was murdered in 2012.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner determined that the 23-year-old died from cyanide toxicity, with underlying cardiac defects, but the source of cyanide was uncertain.

Misunderstood Myth, But Still a Myth

Grief, particularly a parent’s, can make the unimaginable seem possible.

The body Smith identified as her son’s has been on display since 2004, eight years before Erick’s passing. Photographic evidence supports this.

Moreover, public records indicate that her son was cremated in 2012 in Irving, Texas. Smith had previously acknowledged this, although she later questioned the cremation.

Sensationalism for Clicks

Smith’s claim circulated on social media without fact-checking, adding fabricated details for more views.

In a November 2025 post by Taylor McMahon in a Facebook group, it was alleged that Erick’s body was mistakenly marked unclaimed, leading to it being sent to China and displayed.

The post stated, “This one error changed everything. Kim was unaware, denied the opportunity to bury him, or say goodbye. Years later, she saw his face in a news story about the exhibit in Las Vegas, leaving her in shock.

“Kim is now fighting in court to bring her son back, uphold his dignity in death, and alter the treatment of unclaimed bodies to prevent other families from similar grief.”

We hope you got the attention you sought, Taylor.

Unproven Allegations

The 2018 article shared by Smith addresses an unsolved controversy.

Both “Real Bodies” and the Luxor exhibit, “Bodies: The Exhibition,” source their specimens from Dalian Hoffen Bio-Technique in China. These bodies are termed “unclaimed,” supposedly donated legally to medical schools.

“Real Bodies” claims their bodies were “never prisoners” and died of natural causes, based on information from Dalian Hoffen Bio-Technique.

In China, “unclaimed” bodies have included those who died in custody, such as executed prisoners.

Various human-rights groups have documented the use of executed prisoners’ bodies for medical and commercial purposes in China.

In 2008, following investigations by the New York Attorney General and the New York Times, the Luxor exhibit admitted it couldn’t confirm that its specimens weren’t prisoners.

To date, no bodies exhibit has provided evidence on identity, cause of death, or consent for any body. Chinese authorities have rejected third-party audits.

While the claim about Christopher Erick is untrue, the broader controversy surrounding sourcing remains unresolved.

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