Company CEO is 2nd person charged in case involving abuse of corpses at Austin mortuary

Yahoo

29-04-2025

Austin police have arrested a second person in connection to a case involving abuse of corpses at a local mortuary.
Dr. Aaron Ali, the chief executive officer of Austin-based MedtoMarket, is facing two charges: aggravated perjury, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and abuse of a corpse without legal authority, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in state jail.
In an emailed statement that described the charges as "completely unfounded," Ali's lawyer, Eric J.R. Nicols, said his client was arrested on Monday and released later in the day.
An arrest affidavit for Ali said his company supplied the arms of human corpses to Capital Mortuary Services, the North Austin mortuary at the center of the case, so staff there could conduct experiments on them. That's according to a statement that mortuary owner Adaline Bui gave to authorities.
Bui, who was arrested and charged last week with abuse of a corpse and tampering with a government record, told police that MedtoMarket had requested a study on the arms to see how long they could be preserved for months at a time with or without formaldehyde being injected into them, according to the affidavit.
Bui also told police that "up to 15 bodies had been mutilated and subject to experimentation with the permission of MedtoMarket."
More: Austin funeral home owner charged with abusing corpses, fabricating death certificates
The affidavit said that Ali told police on April 10 that he had asked Capital Mortuary Services to do embalming — not testing — on two arms. He later confirmed the mortuary was embalming arms to see how long they could preserve them.
'To some degree, law enforcement investigators have to rely on information provided by others," Nicols, Ali's lawyer, said in his statement. "In this case, it is clear that law enforcement has been provided with incorrect information."
Ali told authorities he never went to the mortuary to observe the testing but inquired about the condition of the arms, according to the affidavit, which said that "Ali provided that he probably would have spoken to Adeline Bui about the tests." The document noted that the executive director of the Texas Funeral Service Commission told police that it was against the law for Capital Mortuary Services to use a dead body for research or education purposes unless defined by a state code.
On April 16, the affidavit said Ali testified on proposed legislation during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. In his testimony, he told the committee that MedtoMarket is a "state approved anatomical facility" that works closely with "physicians, first responders, military personnel, FBI and other healthcare programs to offer essential cadaver-based training," according to the affidavit. He also said he was the chairman of the State Anatomical Advisory Committee under the Texas Funeral Service Commission, the document said.
Ali told the Senate committee that all the trainings on cadavers take place at the MedtoMarket facility, according to the affidavit. But police think that Ali was not telling the truth, the document said.
"Dr. Ali providing the arms to the unlicensed and unapproved facility for experimental testing, that he asked for, is completely oppositional to his statements made in the Senate about who and where approved anatomical specimen testing is allowed to take place," the affidavit said.
Nicols disagreed with police, saying in his statement that 'contrary to some of the information provided to law enforcement, all of the activities by Dr. Ali and the companies he works with were fully authorized by law."
"Anatomical facilities work with tissue that is donated by well-meaning donors and their families to serve the interests of medical science and the entire Texas community," Nicol said.
He went on to note that Ali has had a long career "distinguished by his dedication to the health and well-being of others."
"This has been shown in the area of anatomical bioskills training, education and research, as well as in his work as a board-certified physician," Nicols said. "He is also a responsible and active Travis County citizen and previously served in the United States Army Reserves."
According to a biography on MedtoMarket's website, Ali is a board-certified anesthesiologist and served as chief resident during his specialty medical training at Duke University.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Second person charged in corpse abuse case at Austin mortuary