Autopsy Set for Body Medium Failed to Revive

An autopsy will be performed early this week on a City of Industry man whose corpse was kept for nearly a week by a medium who told the man’s family that he could be revived, authorities said Saturday.

Los Angeles County coroner’s investigators and sheriff’s detectives were summoned Friday to a house in the 16400 block of Loukelton Street, where family members turned over the decomposing body of Horm Kim Chhim, 50, authorities said.

Coroner’s Investigator David Campbell said that, “based on (the dead man’s) age and the circumstances” of his death, an autopsy would be performed Monday or Tuesday.

Although homicide detectives were on the case, authorities said that there were no indications of foul play in the death.

“There was strange activity, but nothing criminal,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Coleman.

No charges are contemplated against the unidentified medium, the sergeant said.

According to Coleman, family members told investigators that “for religious reasons,” Chhim, who was suffering from an apparent stomach ailment, was taken to the medium’s home on May 18.

“It was reported to us that he didn’t believe in doctors,” Campbell said of the dead man.

Although authorities are still uncertain of the date of Chhim’s death, it appears that he was with the medium when he died, officials said. The medium subsequently asked the family to allow him to keep the corpse in an attempt to restore the dead man’s spirit, officials said.

“Apparently the (medium) told the family he could bring the body back to life, and after they gave it to him for a week and the body didn’t come back to life, he gave it back,” Coleman said.

Family members called county Fire Department paramedics, who arrived at the dead man’s home about 6 p.m. Friday. Coleman said that the first authorities on the scene had trouble understanding what happened to the dead man because of a “communication gap” with the family.