Chicago Body Harvesting Ring Exposed

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Once again, hundreds of families
will be left wondering if the

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bodies of loved ones have been
bought and sold on the black

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market. 7 Action News
investigator Jim Kirschner is

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here tonight with a store you'll
see only on 7 Jim.

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Steven and Carolyn, this case
started here, according to

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sources, when a man named Arthur
Rathburn was shipping human body

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parts through Metro Airport.
Get this the box leaked blood.

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Those cargo haulers then called
for help.

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The underground human body trade
industry has exposed shocking

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illegal activities operating
within America's poorly

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regulated tissue donation
system.

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What began as raids on 2
unassuming Chicago suburban

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businesses, a crematorium, and
the Biological Resource Center

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of Illinois, BR Sill, revealed A
disturbing network trafficking

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in human remains under the guise
of medical science.

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Federal agents discovered
thousands of meticulously

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cataloged human body parts with
specific price tags, head

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selling for $500, arms for $750,
and complete bodies commanding

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1000 dollars, $5000.
The operation allegedly deceived

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donors and families who believe
they were contributing to

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medical research rather than
having remains sold for profit

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in a commercial enterprise.
The investigation uncovered

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particularly troubling health
risks.

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Many body parts were infected
with HIV, hepatitis, and other

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serious diseases that should
have immediately disqualified

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them from any medical use or
sale.

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Despite these dangers, the
remains were allegedly sold to

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hospitals, doctors, and medical
training facilities both within

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the United States and
internationally, potentially

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exposing healthcare workers to
significant risks.

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The father son owners of Bar
Sill, Donald Green Senior and

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Donald Green Junior, received
what many consider surprisingly

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light sentences.
Green Senior was sentenced to 24

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months in prison with 36 months
of supervised release, while

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Green Junior received just 30
days of incarceration with one

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year of supervised release.
Both were also assessed minimal

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fines of $100.
This Chicago operation was far

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from unique.
Similar body broker rings have

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been exposed across the country,
revealing a pattern of

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exploitation spanning decades.
In Arizona, a 2014 FBI raid of

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the Biological Resource Center
owned by Steven Gore uncovered

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scenes that shocked even veteran
investigators.

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Agents found coolers filled with
severed heads, buckets of limbs,

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and, most disturbingly, torsos
with mismatched heads sewn

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together in what court documents
described as reminiscent of

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Frankenstein's monster.
Despite the gruesome nature of

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these discoveries, Gore received
only probation after pleading

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guilty.
A 2018 Reuters investigation

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titled The Body Trade exposed
how a Detroit warehouse

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connected to the Illinois case
was operated by Arthur Rathburn.

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He ultimately received a nine
year prison sentence for fraud

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and shipping hazardous materials
After supplying body parts

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infected with HIV and hepatitis
to medical researchers in

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Colorado.
Mother, Daughter funeral

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directors Megan Hess and Shirley
Koch operated the Sunset Mesa

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Funeral Home while allegedly
selling body parts from hundreds

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of corpses meant for cremation.
In many cases, they provided

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families with concrete dust
instead of actual ashes.

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Both women pleaded guilty to
mail fraud in 2023.

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A disturbing pattern has emerged
connecting these body broker

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operations to unexplained
disappearances from medical

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facilities across the country.
Multiple cases share striking

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similarities, patients vanishing
despite the presence of security

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cameras, personal belongings
left behind, and suspicious gaps

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in surveillance footage at
critical moments.

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The case of two year old Neva
Richard highlights the

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vulnerability of patients.
She disappeared from a Cleveland

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doctor's appointment in 2012
where she was being treated for

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Wardenberg syndrome, a rare
genetic condition.

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The circumstances of her
separation from her caregiver

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remain unclear.
Carlton Pernell vanished from

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Northwestern Memorial Hospital
in Chicago, leaving behind his

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wallet and personal items.
No surveillance footage showed

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him actually leaving the
facility.

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Frank Brown disappeared in 2015
from Baptist Hospital in

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Jacksonville after being treated
for seizures.

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Despite calling family for a
ride home and them arriving

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within 30 minutes, he was never
seen again.

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Security footage showed him in
the hospital but never captured

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his exit.
Similar cases include Bartolo

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Diaz Ortiz, who vanished after
allegedly being taken to an

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Arizona hospital, George Gregory
Smith, who disappeared after

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supposed discharge from a
Detroit hospital, and Shanice

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Burrell, who vanished while
visiting her newborn in a Saint

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Louis NICU.
Lamont Jenkins and Derek

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Chambers also disappeared from
hospitals in Cleveland and Oak

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Lawn, respectively.
The geographic overlap between

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these disappearances and known
body broker operations raises

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disturbing questions.
Many vanishments occurred in the

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same cities where illegal body
trading operations were later

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exposed, Detroit, Chicago,
Phoenix and other major

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metropolitan areas.
The industry operates in a

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dangerous regulatory vacuum.
While organ donation for

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transplants is strictly
controlled by federal law, the

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trade in non transplant body
parts has minimal oversight.

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Only a handful of states have
enacted specific regulations

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governing body brokers, creating
opportunities for exploitation

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and abuse.
The legitimate medical donation

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industry serves vital purposes,
allowing surgeons to practice

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new techniques, researchers to
test medical devices, and

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students to study human anatomy.
However, the combination of

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profit potential and minimal
regulation creates conditions

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ripe for criminal exploitation.
Law enforcement officials have

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been reluctant to publicly
comment on potential connections

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between missing persons cases
and the body broker industry.

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However, multiple agencies have
quietly reopened investigations,

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suggesting possible links are
being explored.

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The unsealed documents from
these investigations highlight

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serious issues at the
intersection of medicine, ethics

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and commerce.
The cases demonstrate urgent

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need for greater transparency,
consistent standards and

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appropriate oversight to ensure
body donations are handled

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ethically and with dignity.
For families of missing persons,

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the possibility their loved ones
could have been exploited by

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this industry adds new horror to
their ongoing nightmare.

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The pattern of disappearances
from medical facilities,

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combined with the documented
illegal trade in human remains

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raises disturbing questions
about vulnerability within the

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healthcare system.
These cases under score the

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importance of having trusted
companions present during

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medical visits and
hospitalizations.

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The profit motive in the largely
unregulated body broker

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industry, combined with
suspicious patterns of

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disappearances, suggests
patients may be at risk from

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those willing to cross ethical
and legal boundaries for

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financial gain.
Reform efforts must focus on

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closing regulatory gaps while
preserving legitimate medical

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donation programs that advance
healthcare.

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Until stronger oversight is
implemented, the intersection of

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missing persons cases and the
underground body trade will

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continue, raising troubling
questions about exploitation of

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society's most vulnerable
members.

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Why were you stockpiling
hundreds of human body parts

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here, Sir?
That's Art Rathburn.

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And remember his business 13
months ago?

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For two days, federal
investigators dressed in hazmat

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suits removed body parts of 1000
different people, arms, legs,

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heads, cut up and kept on ice,
not embalmed, so they would be

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fresh for the black market.
Today, the rundown warehouse on

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Detroit's east side is shuttered
and up for sale.

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Sources say Rathburn's seized
records LED to the Chicago area

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today, a business called
Biological Resource Center in

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Rosemont.
It's difficult to see from the

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outside, but sources say the
hazmat suits and raid are

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underway on the 6th floor of
this office building.

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The same paper trail LED
investigators to Biological

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Resource Center in Phoenix last
January and another raid

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removing body parts and corpses.
There were also ties to similar

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businesses in Las Vegas.
Since these dealt directly with

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the public, families were left
without answers.

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Julie donated her husband
Steve's body and was promised

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his cremated remains back in a
month.

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Confused and and angry.
We thought this was going to be

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doing some good.
Yeah, it doesn't sound like it

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is.
What do you say to all those

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families who had no idea their
loved ones were in here?

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Michigan pulled Art Rathburn's
license last year after our

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reporting, even though they were
told about his problems two

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years before.
Go find out what the heck he is

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doing.
And that wasn't done right.

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Did we do something two years
ago?

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No, we didn't.
Are we doing an investigation

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now?
Yes, we are.

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Are you?
Worried about going to prison

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now?
No one has been charged by the

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feds yet.
They're actually 2 locations

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involved in this raid going on
right now in the Chicago area.

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The offices in Rosemont and the
lab in another suburb where they

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have found body parts.
But my sources say this case is

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winding down.
And with this new evidence in

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Chicago, they can now finish
this case after some 13 months.

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Thanks for listening to No Tears
for Black Girls.

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