Rodda Museum Inquiry: The Unfolding Story of John's Unusual Double Burial of His Brother

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John Santi recently buried his brother’s brain, decades after he died in a motorcycle accident in Tasmania.

“After 50 years, I had to rebury his body part … We went and laid that to rest with him. That’s something we should never have had to do,” John told SBS.

John’s brother Tony died in the 1970s, but new grief surfaced for John and his family in September.

This is when they found out Tony’s brain had been removed without consent during the autopsy and was kept as part of a collection at the Rodda Museum at the University of Tasmania (UTAS).

Under the laws at the time, a coroner was not authorised to remove or retain any part of a dead body for any purpose other than investigating the manner and cause of death of that person.

“One of the hardest parts is having to rebury him … he’s been buried twice.”

It turns out Tony wasn’t the only individual whose remains were taken without permission.

a vintage image of a young schoolboy from the 1950s or 1960s

Here we see a photo of John’s brother Tony as a young boy. Source: Supplied

A recent coronial inquiry in Tasmania, led by state coroner Simon Cooper, published a report in September. The findings revealed that 177 human samples had been retained by the museum without the necessary consent.

Colin King says discovering how his mother’s body was treated has been “a bloody living nightmare”.

Elaine died at the age of 39, when Colin was 19 years old.

Colin says he was visiting her grave on her birthday in January when a friend phoned him to say he had seen Elaine’s name in the paper. She was listed in the public notice issued by the coronial division.

“I have been struggling with the loss of my mother for 45 years,” Colin said.

Among those affected, in addition to John’s brother Tony, was Elaine King, the mother of Colin King.

a room with a skeleton, bone and body samples on shelves

The Rodda Museum is a pathology museum within the University of Tasmania. Source: SBS / University of Tamania 2018

It wasn’t just the discovery that a part of his mother’s body wasn’t resting in her grave that Colin says has been traumatic — but also trying to get that body part back.

In email correspondence SBS has seen between Colin and the Tasmanian Coronial Division, Colin asked in June that his mother’s remains be returned to him.

This request was “respectfully declined”, with the coroner deeming Colin’s request not “practical”.

In September, Colin received an email saying his mother’s “specimen/s” had been cremated in August. He also spoke with the coronial division on the phone.

Colin believes the way it all unfolded brought him further trauma.

“This is something my family and I will never get over,” Colin told SBS.

“It’s like living a horror movie, daily.”

A statement from the Coronial Division to SBS reads: “Once submissions had been received from all relevant Senior Next of Kin in relation to the deceased individual, (and in some cases there were multiple family members consulted in relation to specific deceased persons), the Coroner determined how the remains were to be disposed of.”

It added it was: “acutely aware of the grief and in some cases trauma, that relatives had to revisit as a result of this matter, and to assist Senior Next of Kin, worked to make sure appropriate mental health assistance was made available”.

“In relation to Mr King, the Division have had considerable and regular contact with Mr King and supported his engagement with these supports”. The division also said it had phone conversations with Colin around the time of the email correspondence.

Ethics of obtaining human remains

The investigation into the collection of human specimens by pathologists without adequate consent, led by coroner Cooper, found that now-deceased forensic pathologist Dr Royal Cummings appeared to have provided most of the specimens to the Rodda Museum. Some of his predecessors and successors also engaged in the practice.

It appeared previous coroners were apparently unaware the specimens had been distributed to the museum.

“The retention of human remains without family or coronial approval, or even knowledge, is an historic practice out of keeping with, and offensive to, contemporary standards and values,” Cooper said in his conclusion.

“It is inconceivable to my mind that it would ever happen again although the fact that the practice continued for as long as it did and ended only comparatively recently is also almost equally inconceivable.”

Dr Sally Wasef, a forensic research fellow with an expertise in ancient DNA retrieval at the Queensland University of Technology, says there are now clear national standards (introduced in the early 2000s) about how human remains can be obtained for medical research.

The forensics expert highlights that most universities now have body farms — where the person has donated their body to research before their death.

“[The universities] do all of the research based on those remains — that have been donated for the purpose.”

Although institutions now need ethical clearance and clear permission to obtain human remains, this hasn’t always been the case.

“I think it was common practice in the olden days that people would think that they can keep some of the remains … I think they can justify to themselves that they are ‘benefiting the community’ … “

She added: “Even if it’s good intentions, it’s not the right way of doing things; it’s unethical.”

Wasef also says that many remains of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are still being held in museums in Australia and internationally — noting that many Indigenous communities affected want to see their ancestors laid to rest once and for all.

Trying to move on

Still dealing with the trauma of what happened, Colin doesn’t understand how an unethical practice could continue for so long without it becoming apparent.

“I’ve been trying to get on with my life. This is something I didn’t need and something I would rather not know,” Colin said.

“I’d rather this has just not come out.”

Also experiencing new grief, John also wants to see more done to make sure people don’t have to go through what has happened to his family.

“I’m just glad my mum and dad have passed, so they didn’t have to go through all this.”

The University of Tasmania told SBS Insight in a statement: “The University of Tasmania is deeply sorry for the sadness and hurt felt by family members who learned that parts of their loved ones were collected during coronial autopsies and retained without consent … “

“We are carefully considering the Coroner’s report to determine any further actions.”

The Tasmanian government is also due to apologise but a date is yet to be set.

Readers seeking crisis support can ring Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25).

More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636, and on 1300 845 745 or at Griefline.