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Inset: Adeline Ngan-Binh Bui (Travis County Jail). Background: Capital Mortuary Services in Austin, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas mortician is accused of “experimenting” on bodies and injecting formaldehyde into body parts so she could see “the effect it had over time on severed extremities.”
Adeline Ngan-Binh Bui, the 50-year-old owner of Capital Mortuary Services in Austin, stands accused of abuse of a corpse and five counts of tampering with governmental records, cops said. The investigation began in early April when the Texas Funeral Service Commission received a complaint that the mortuary and its owner were allegedly “engaging in criminal conduct.” A probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by local NBC affiliate KXAN stated that a former mortuary employee filed the complaint.
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The employee alleged that Bui used their name to fix or amend death certificates. It was also alleged that Bui was conducting “experiments” on severed body parts, including heads, arms and spines, before cremation. The affidavit reportedly said Bui admitted directing her employees to study “effects of embalming fluid with and without formaldehyde.” The employees would inject the formaldehyde into the body part and observe the lasting effect it had on it, cops allege. After the experiment was completed, the body parts would be cremated.
Bui reportedly said the experiments were completed on about 15 bodies. While some companies are permitted to do some, this is a no-no for a commercial mortuary, the funeral commission told cops.
“It is unlawful for a commercial embalming establishment to use a dead human body for research or educational purposes,” its executive director reportedly said.
The defendant also admitted to using the ex-employee’s name to alter the death certificates. She claimed she only did so because the employee’s name was in a drop-down menu. Investigators reportedly found that Bui used the ex-employee’s name some 128 times.
Bui’s attorney said context needs to be added to the allegations.
“This case involves complexities that are not immediately apparent and should not be sensationalized,” her attorney, Jessica Huynh of Smith and Vinson Law Firm, told KXAN.
Cops arrested Bui on April 18 and she has since bonded out. Her next court hearing is scheduled for May 9.
In a statement, Austin police said it was “committed to enforcing state regulations, protecting the public from predatory practices, and ensuring that decedent remains are treated with dignity and respect in accordance with Texas law.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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