Latest news with #MedtoMarket
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Second person charged in corpse abuse case; Police ask potential witnesses to come forward
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The CEO of the medical training facility MedtoMarket is accused of providing human remains for unauthorized experimentation using embalming fluid, according to the Austin Police Department. Aaron Ali is the second person to face charges related to the case of alleged 'experiments' on corpses, APD said. Police arrest an Austin mortuary owner accused of 'experimenting' on corpses During a press conference Wednesday, Detective Bryce Bishop said Ali is charged with aggravated perjury and abuse of a human corpse. Ali turned himself in at the Travis County jail Monday and was released on bond. 'The charges are completely unfounded,' Ali's attorney Eric J.R. Nichols told Nexstar's KXAN in a statement Tuesday. The investigation is ongoing, but Austin police said they need former employees of Capitol Mortuary Services — or anyone with information about the case — to contact investigators. APD also said possible victims may get in touch with APD Victim Services at Adeline Bui, the owner of Capital Mortuary Services, was the first to be arrested in the case last week. Bui, who is facing corpse abuse and government-record tampering charges, is accused of forging death certificates and running 'experiments' on severed limbs. During Wednesday's press conference, Bishop said the investigation started with a complaint to the Texas Funeral Commission by a former embalmer at Capitol Mortuary Services. The person told the commission that his name and mortuary credentials were used to file for fraudulent death certificates. The complainant also told investigators about Bui's 'experiments.' The Texas Funeral Commission then reached out to Austin Police. Earlier this month, APD detectives 'reviewed evidence related to the investigation,' Bishop said. 'The evidence included a project thread that was titled 'Freedom Art Experiment.' The thread showed materials including photos of severed arms and discussions on tissue decomposition, mold growth, and the use of materials like fishing line to suture the specimens,' Bishop explained. The detective said APD confirmed 'at least one body was being abused.' Meanwhile, Bishop said the original complainant's name was used 129 times to file for fraudulent death certificates at Capitol Mortuary Services. After their initial review of evidence, APD investigators executed a search warrant at Capitol Mortuary Services on April 10. Bui was interviewed the same day and allegedly told police that she was working with MedtoMarket on the 'experiments.' These 'experiments,' according to Bui's arrest affidavit, involved her injecting formaldehyde into arms to see 'the effect it had over time on severed extremities.' She guessed around 15 bodies were 'mutilated and subject to experimentation with the permission of MedtoMarket and was updating the company on the outcomes,' the records show. Family recalls experience with mortuary owner accused of corpse 'experiments' In a search warrant obtained by KXAN, investigators requested access to two devices, an iPhone and an iPad, believed to have additional communication between Bui and a MedtoMarket official. Police now say Bui admitted to forging documents with the former embalmer's credentials to 'process critical documents required for the intake and cremation of decedents,' Bishop said. Bui also told investigators that her actions were at the request of MedtoMarket. In a statement to KXAN last week, MedtoMarket said it 'has become aware of certain allegations related to a mortuary MedtoMarket has contracted with in performing its important work and mission. MedtoMarket will cooperate with law enforcement and state regulatory officials as part of any investigation.' The company also said it is an 'approved anatomical facility,' which, according to the Texas Funeral Commission's (TFSC) statements in the affidavit, would potentially authorize it to perform the embalming actions Bui is accused of doing. TFSC's executive director, Scott Bingaman, gave a statement to police regarding Bui's alleged actions at Capital Mortuary: 'It is unlawful for a commercial embalming establishment to use a dead human body for research or educational purposes.' Ali's attorney released a statement that said, in part: '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. Anatomical facilities, which are authorized by Texas law, serve the purpose of allowing first responders, physicians and other health care providers to train using such donated tissue in order to save lives and heal others. No court date is listed for Ali yet. Bui's next court appearance is currently set for June. KXAN learned more about Ali's business from his testimony at the Texas Capitol earlier this month. For about six minutes, Ali spoke in front of the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on April 16. He said MedtoMarket is a state-approved anatomical facility. 'We work closely with physicians, first responders, military personnel, FBI and other healthcare providers to offer essential cadaver-based training,' Ali said to senators. He spoke on Senate Bill 2721, also known as the Human Dignity Act. It focuses on regulating the treatment of human remains and anatomical donations for educational and research purposes. 'It institutes inspections. It demands transparency and accountability,' said Texas Sen. Tan Parker. The bill would set new standards for body acquisition facilities, create a criminal offense for violating the regulations, and establish a secure electronic database to track bodies and parts under the Texas Funeral Service Commission. 'One of our primary concerns is the absence of healthcare professionals on the commission,' Ali said. During Ali's testimony, KXAN learned more about what he said happens inside MedtoMarket. 'You go to a lecture room where you get lectured by physicians on the procedures you're going to be working on,' Ali said. 'Once they've been trained in a didactic room, they change into scrubs, go through locked doors, lock sliding glass doors to a real OR facility that has non-porous floors with cadavers that are from authorized facilities and donors.' When asked about their intake of bodies, Ali claimed to only accept 'authorized consented individuals.' 'They have true authorization paperwork for their donation,' Ali said. 'They are not unclaimed bodies.' A senator asked if they do trainings outside the facility. Ali said they only do them in their facility and specifically train physicians, surgeons and first responders. 'We don't train random people. We don't have random people come into our facility,' Ali said. On Tuesday, the committee reviewed SB 2721, made some changes to it and voted to recommend the substitute version to the Senate for further consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
MedtoMarket CEO charged in connection with investigation in 'experiments' on corpses
The Brief MedtoMarket CEO Aaron Ali has been charged in connection with an investigation into alleged experiments on corpses Ali has been charged with state jail felony abuse of a corpse without legal authority and third-degree felony aggravated perjury Ali's charges come after charges were filed against Adeline Bui AUSTIN, Texas - The CEO of MedtoMarket has been charged in connection with an investigation into alleged "experiments" on corpses and fraudulently obtained death certificates at a North Austin mortuary. 53-year-old Aaron Ali has been charged with state jail felony abuse of a corpse without legal authority and third-degree felony aggravated perjury. Ali is also the chair of the State Anatomical Advisory Committee, which was established to advise and provide expertise on the regulation and operation of willed body programs, non-transplant anatomical donation organizations, and anatomical facilities, according to the Texas Health & Safety Code. The committee is under the purview of the Texas Funeral Services Commission and was created after the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas was abolished in 2023. Ali surrendered himself voluntarily to authorities on Monday, April 28, and was released on bond the same day, according to his attorney. What they're saying Ali's attorney Eric J.R. Nichols issued a statement to FOX 7 Austin: "These charges are completely unfounded. "To some degree, law enforcement investigators have to rely on information provided by others. In this case, it is clear that law enforcement has been provided with incorrect information. "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. Anatomical facilities, which are authorized by Texas law, serve the purpose of allowing first responders, physicians and other health care providers to train using such donated tissue in order to save lives and heal others. "Dr. Ali's long career is 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. He is also a responsible and active Travis County citizen and previously served in the United States Army Reserves. "We look forward to the opportunity to work with law enforcement and the Travis County District Attorney's Office to ensure that these charges are handled responsibly from this date forward. We believe that these meritless charges should be resolved in the near future." Warning: Details of the investigation are included below and may be disturbing to some. What we know Ali's charges stem from an investigation into Adeline Bui, an employee at Capital Mortuary Services, a North Austin mortuary, who allegedly had been experimenting on "separated anatomical structures," namely the arms of an unknown dead person. The "experiment," according to court documents, involved injecting formaldehyde into the arms and observing its effects over time on the severed limbs. Bui is also charged with fraudulently obtaining multiple death certificates using a former employee's identity. During the investigation into Bui, authorities interviewed Ali, who confirmed to them that he had a contract with Capital Mortuary Services for transport and cremation services. He said CMS would "help [them] out with dissection sometimes" but added that it was a long time ago. Ali told authorities he did not have an embalming license, but those at CMS did. He also denied any "experimental testing" but confirmed CMS was embalming arms to see how long they could preserve them. He denied that any "experiment" happened and referred to it as embalming, court paperwork said. Ali said the arms were evaluated over the course of a couple of months and denied going to the mortuary to see the testing done. The Texas Funeral Service Commission told APD it was "unlawful for a commercial embalming establishment to use a dead human body for research or education purposes," when asked if there was "any possible legal way" for MedtoMarket to grant authority for experiments on remains obtained from them. Ali is also facing an aggravated perjury charge connected to his recent testimony to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. Ali was testifying during a hearing on Senate Bill 2721, which pertained to the licensing and regulation of persons who provide mortuary services and proposed creating a criminal offense, increasing the punishment for an existing criminal offense and expanding the application of a fee, according to the bill's summary. During his testimony, Ali confirmed he was the CEO of MedtoMarket and identified it as "a state-approved anatomical facility." He also told state senators that the only bodies his company accepts are "authorized consenting individuals." When asked if all training takes place within their facility, Ali said "our facility does just our facility, period, because we have full control of it." The court documents say Ali's knowledge and request for the testing at CMS was contrary to that of his testimony. Authorities also uncovered a time-stamped document that Ali agreed to before testifying which stated that he was swearing an oath to tell the truth and that he was affirming that his testimony "under penalty of perjury" was true and correct. In Texas, it becomes aggravated perjury when someone commits perjury during or in connection with an official proceeding and its material. What's next Ali is scheduled to appear in court on May 19. The Source Information in this report comes from court paperwork and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Company CEO is 2nd person charged in case involving abuse of corpses at Austin mortuary
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
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Medical training facility CEO faces charges in Austin corpse abuse case
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The CEO of medical training facility MedtoMarket is the second person to face charges related to a case of alleged 'experiments' on corpses, according to the Austin Police Department. PREVIOUS: Police arrest an Austin mortuary owner accused of 'experimenting' on corpses The department said Aaron Ali 'voluntarily reported to the Travis County jail' on Monday after an arrest warrant was issued for Aggravated Perjury and Abuse of a Human Corpse charges. Ali was released the same day on bond. 'The charges are completely unfounded,' Ali's attorney Eric J.R. Nichols told KXAN in a statement Tuesday. Last week, KXAN was first to report the arrest of Adeline Bui, the owner of Capital Mortuary Services, who is facing corpse abuse and government-record tampering charges. Bui is accused of forging death certificates and running 'experiments' on severed limbs. Investigators said Bui worked with a medical-training company, MedtoMarket, on the 'experiments.' These 'experiments,' according to Bui's arrest affidavit, involved her injecting formaldehyde into arms to see 'the effect it had over time on severed extremities.' She guessed around 15 bodies were 'mutilated and subject to experimentation with the permission of MedtoMarket and was updating the company on the outcomes.' RELATED: Family recalls experience with mortuary owner accused of corpse 'experiments' In a search warrant obtained by KXAN, investigators requested access to two devices, an iPhone and an iPad, believed to have additional communication between Bui and a MedtoMarket official. In a statement to KXAN last week, MedtoMarket said it 'has become aware of certain allegations related to a mortuary MedtoMarket has contracted with in performing its important work and mission. MedtoMarket will cooperate with law enforcement and state regulatory officials as part of any investigation.' The company also said it is an 'approved anatomical facility,' which, according to the Texas Funeral Commission's (TFSC) statements in the affidavit, would potentially authorize it to perform the embalming actions Bui is accused of doing. TFSC's executive director, Scott Bingaman, told police regarding Bui performing them at Capital Mortuary, 'it is unlawful for a commercial embalming establishment to use a dead human body for research or educational purposes.' The full statement from Ali's attorney provided to KXAN Tuesday is below. 'To some degree, law enforcement investigators have to rely on information provided by others. In this case, it is clear that law enforcement has been provided with incorrect information. '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. Anatomical facilities, which are authorized by Texas law, serve the purpose of allowing first responders, physicians and other health care providers to train using such donated tissue in order to save lives and heal others. 'Dr. Ali's long career is 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. He is also a responsible and active Travis County citizen and previously served in the United States Army Reserves. 'We look forward to the opportunity to work with law enforcement and the Travis County District Attorney's Office to ensure that these charges are handled responsibly from this date forward. We believe that these meritless charges should be resolved in the near future.' Eric J.R. Nichols, Ali's attorney No court date is listed for Ali yet. Bui's next court appearance is currently set for June. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
