Man Guilty of Taking Corpses’ Body Parts
A crematorium owner pleaded guilty to 78 felony charges of illegally removing heads, knees, spines and other body parts from dozens of corpses scheduled for cremation, allegedly selling the parts for medical research.
As part of a plea bargain, 44-year-old Michael Francis Brown of Murrieta faces a sentence ranging from probation to 20 years in state prison.
His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
Originally, Brown was charged with 144 counts of embezzlement and 128 counts of mutilating grave remains. Those counts could have put him behind bars for about 180 years.
As part of the plea bargain, the remaining charges will be dismissed after sentencing.
Victims’ families have filed 10 lawsuits against Brown, who is no longer the owner of Pacific Cremation Care, where the body parts were removed from February 2000 to February 2001.
“A lot of the victims want to get this behind them and move on,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Gorham.
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