Corpse experimentation at Austin mortuary case: New details

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police have released new details as a second person has been charged in a gruesome case involving a North Austin mortuary.

Adeline Bui, an employee at Capital Mortuary Services in North Austin, and Dr. Aaron Ali, CEO of MedtoMarket, have been charged in connection with alleged experiments on corpses at the mortuary.

APD releases new details

What they're saying:

In a press conference on Wednesday, April 30, APD Homicide Det. Brice Bishop spoke about the case and provided a timeline of the investigation.

Det. Bishop also revealed new allegations against Bui. 

"Detectives have been made aware of allegations that Adeline Bui was utilizing her status as a real estate agent to have families list their homes with her to pay for funeral expenses," Bishop said.

Bishop also said APD is aware of families still attempting to get their loved ones' remains from Capital Mortuary Services. "This incident is still actively being investigated, so we ask for your patience," Bishop said.

APD has also learned of reports that employees have been asked or told to dispose of bodily fluids in "unapproved places." This is also actively being investigated, says Bishop.

What you can do:

Bishop is urging anyone who believes they are a victim or may have been approached by Bui to list their home to contact APD.

Former employees or anyone with information about suspicious activity at Capital Mortuary Services is urged to contact APD as well.

Bishop also said that APD is here to support families who used CMS for funeral or mortuary services. APD's Victim Services counselors are available. For more information on APD's Victims Services division, click here.

Watch the full APD news conference below:

The case against Adeline Bui, Dr. Aaron Ali

The backstory:

Ali has been charged in connection with the investigation into alleged "experiments" on corpses and fraudulently obtained death certificates at Capital Mortuary Services.

53-year-old Ali has been charged with state jail felony abuse of a corpse without legal authority and third-degree felony aggravated perjury.

Ali is also the chair of the State Anatomical Advisory Committee, which was established to advise and provide expertise on the regulation and operation of willed body programs, non-transplant anatomical donation organizations, and anatomical facilities, according to the Texas Health & Safety Code.

The committee is under the purview of the Texas Funeral Services Commission and was created after the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas was abolished in 2023.

Ali surrendered himself voluntarily to authorities on Monday, April 28, and was released on bond the same day, according to his attorney.

What they're saying:

Ali's attorney Eric J.R. Nichols issued the following statement to FOX 7 Austin:

These charges are completely unfounded.

To some degree, law enforcement investigators have to rely on information provided by others. In this case, it is clear that law enforcement has been provided with incorrect information.

Contrary to some of the information provided to law enforcement, all of the activities by Dr. Ali and the companies he works with were fully authorized by law. Anatomical facilities work with tissue that is donated by well-meaning donors and their families to serve the interests of medical science and the entire Texas community. Anatomical facilities, which are authorized by Texas law, serve the purpose of allowing first responders, physicians and other health care providers to train using such donated tissue in order to save lives and heal others.

Dr. Ali’s long career is distinguished by his dedication to the health and well-being of others. This has been shown in the area of anatomical bioskills training, education and research, as well as in his work as a board-certified physician. He is also a responsible and active Travis County citizen and previously served in the United States Army Reserves.

We look forward to the opportunity to work with law enforcement and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office to ensure that these charges are handled responsibly from this date forward. We believe that these meritless charges should be resolved in the near future.

What are the charges in this case?

Dig deeper:

Ali's charges stem from an investigation into Bui, who allegedly had been experimenting on "separated anatomical structures," namely the arms of an unknown dead person.

The "experiment," according to court documents, involved injecting formaldehyde into the arms and observing its effects over time on the severed limbs.

Bui has been charged with one count of state-jail felony abuse of corpse and five counts of second-degree felony tampering with governmental records with intent to defraud or harm. The incidents she is charged with go back to at least August 2022, according to court documents.

Warning: Details of the investigation are included below and may be disturbing to some.

Initial Texas Funeral Services Commission investigation

Court documents state that in March, a former embalmer at Capital Mortuary Services alleged to the TFSC that Bui had "fraudulently initiated and obtained" at least ten death certificates under his name and license number without his consent.

The embalmer also alleged Bui had been experimenting on "separated anatomical structures," namely the arms of an unknown dead person. The "experiment," according to the court documents, involved injecting formaldehyde into the arms and observing its effects over time on the severed limbs.

The TFSC later issued a cease and desist letter to the mortuary on April 10, saying that the funeral home had "failed to meet building, health, and safety codes per TEX. OCC. CODE § 651.351(d)" and had to "immediately cease and desist all operations". 

The TFSC license registry lists Capital Mortuary Services as now closed.

Austin Police Department investigation

The TFSC called in the Austin Police Department on April 2 and provided APD with copies of eight death certificates, allegedly signed by the former embalmer via an electronic signature, says court paperwork.

The former embalmer swore in an affidavit that he had not even been employed as a funeral director with Capital Mortuary Services, and instead was employed as a crematory operator, driver and embalmer. He also stated he never accessed the Texas Electronic Vital Events Registrar (or TxEVER) to obtain those eight death certificates.

APD also found the embalmer's name and an allegedly forged signature on a correction form for a ninth person. The form had him listed as a "funeral director" in order to amend the certificate and request copies. The affidavit states that Bui signed the form as a notary.

More evidence came forward about a tenth fraudulent certificate, which included screenshots from the former employee of an alleged communication with Bui from December 2023. 

In the communications, Bui allegedly wrote "let's us[e] this update to monitor our experiment," which was followed by several photos of what police believed were severed and detached arms showing various stages of decomposition. 

TSFC investigators told APD that Bui "then allowed the severed body parts to be placed in the crematory retort, where the body parts, in their dissected and disturbed state, would be cremated," says court paperwork.

The TSFC's executive director also told APD that Capital Mortuary Services was licensed as a "commercial embalming and crematory facility" and that the commission had "neither approved nor received any documentation or application for CMS to operate as a registered anatomical facility". 

TSFC investigators also informed APD that the allegations were a "recurring theme" associated with "miscommunication with families, improper documentation, unprofessional conduct, and possible fraud." TSFC also learned that the former embalmer's name had been used at least 128 times for death certificates under the mortuary's name.

APD records also showed other incidents of improper cremation procedures and alleged potential fraud in connection with Capital Mortuary Services.

Bui's interview with APD

In an interview with an APD homicide detective, Bui allegedly admitted to using the former embalmer's "Funeral Director in Charge" or FDIC identity to complete and submit death certificates without his consent or authority.

She also allegedly confirmed the former employee had never done a single death certificate or amendment or even any paperwork at her facility and that he would not know how to do that. When confronted about why she put his name down when he was not a current employee, she said she "had to put someone's name in there" and that his name was still a "drop down" on the form.

APD says that Bui also confessed to simulating the embalmer's signature on the amendment form she notarized and confirmed that he was not employed there or in her presence at the time. She said he was still the FDIC listed, and she did it because she needed to turn the certificate in and confirmed it using his driver's license.

She also confirmed directing her staff to conduct experiments to study the effects of embalming fluid with and without formaldehyde. She approximated that up to 15 bodies had been mutilated and experimented on with the permission of MedtoMarket, court paperwork says.

A search warrant at the mortuary also uncovered household power tools which appeared to have human tissue on them and Bui allegedly confirmed they had been used on bodies at the mortuary.

Ali's charges

During the investigation into Bui, authorities interviewed Ali, who confirmed to them that he had a contract with Capital Mortuary Services for transport and cremation services. He said CMS would "help [them] out with dissection sometimes" but added that it was a long time ago.

Ali told authorities he did not have an embalming license, but those at CMS did. He also denied any "experimental testing" but confirmed CMS was embalming arms to see how long they could preserve them. He denied that any "experiment" happened and referred to it as embalming, court paperwork said.

Ali said the arms were evaluated over the course of a couple of months and denied going to the mortuary to see the testing done. 

The Texas Funeral Service Commission told APD it was "unlawful for a commercial embalming establishment to use a dead human body for research or education purposes," when asked if there was "any possible legal way" for MedtoMarket to grant authority for experiments on remains obtained from them.

Ali is also facing an aggravated perjury charge connected to his recent testimony to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.

Ali was testifying during a hearing on Senate Bill 2721, which pertained to the licensing and regulation of persons who provide mortuary services and proposed creating a criminal offense, increasing the punishment for an existing criminal offense and expanding the application of a fee, according to the bill's summary.

During his testimony, Ali confirmed he was the CEO of MedtoMarket and identified it as "a state-approved anatomical facility." He also told state senators that the only bodies his company accepts are "authorized consenting individuals." When asked if all training takes place within their facility, Ali said "our facility does just our facility, period, because we have full control of it."

The court documents say Ali's knowledge and request for the testing at CMS was contrary to that of his testimony. 

Authorities also uncovered a time-stamped document that Ali agreed to before testifying which stated that he was swearing an oath to tell the truth and that he was affirming that his testimony "under penalty of perjury" was true and correct.

In Texas, it becomes aggravated perjury when someone commits perjury during or in connection with an official proceeding and its material.

What's next:

Court records show that Bui has a court appearance scheduled for May 9.

Ali is scheduled to appear in court on May 19.

AustinCrime and Public Safety