A mother from Texas believes she has found the remains of her missing son on display as a plastinated human statue at a Las Vegas museum. Kim Erick, 54, claims the body of Christopher Todd Erick, who died in 2012 at age 23, is the figure known as 'The Thinker' at the Real Bodies exhibition.
Christopher's death was initially ruled natural or suicide, but Kim's suspicions led her to request case files from the Midlothian Police Department. She alleges crime scene photos showed her son covered in bruises and lacerations, and that a chair with straps indicated he may have been tortured. A later test found lethal cyanide in his blood, and the cause of death was amended to cyanide toxicity, though a grand jury ruled it suicide by undetermined means.
In 2018, while browsing the Real Bodies exhibition online, Kim saw 'The Thinker' and immediately recognised it as her son. She points to a skull fracture on the right temple and a tattoo area that appears shaved down as identifying marks. She claims her ex-husband handled the cremation and she received only a necklace with ashes, with no funeral held.
Imagine Exhibitions, the company behind Real Bodies, denies the allegations, stating the specimen has been on display since 2004, eight years before Christopher's death. They said all specimens are ethically sourced and biologically unidentifiable, typically from China. Kim is now demanding DNA testing but says the body may have been moved to Tennessee, though she has no evidence it arrived there.
