Autopsy of 98-year-old US army veteran performed at ticketed public event without family's knowledge

The family of David Saunders, who lived in Louisiana, only learned he had been part of a public autopsy at Portland’s Marriott Hotel when it was reported by a local news station. Picture: US National WWII Museum

The body of a 98-year-old army veteran who died after contracting Covid-19 was dissected in front of an audience at a hotel in the US state of Oregon last month, without the knowledge of the man’s family.

The family of David Saunders, who lived in Louisiana, only learned he had been part of a public autopsy at Portland’s Marriott Hotel when it was reported by a local news station.

It is understood those who attended the autopsy, which took place as part of the travelling 'Oddities and Curiosities Expo', paid $500 for their tickets.

The event itself was reportedly put on by a group known as ‘Death Science’ as part of a 'cadaver class'. The autopsy was carried out by a retired professor.

Mr Saunders had donated his body to medical science but local news station King 5 News reported his family believed their loved one’s body would be used for private medical research.

Details of how exactly Mr Saunders's body came to be at the event without his family’s knowledge are unclear, though it has been reported the body had initially been donated to a Las Vegas-based firm called Med Labs.

'Showcases all things weird'

According to its website, the Oddities and Curiosities Expo “showcases hand-selected vendors, dealers, artists and small businesses from all over the country with all things weird".

It lists items such as taxidermy, preserved specimens, original artwork, horror/Halloween inspired pieces, antiques, handcrafted oddities, quack medical devices, creepy clothing, odd jewellery, skulls/bones, and funeral collectibles as forming part of its events.

On its website, Death Science describes itself as an “educational platform focused on the scientific fields of forensic, medical, and mortuary science”. 

Speaking to King TV in Portland, Mr Saunders’s widow, Elsie, said she was horrified her late husband was “treated like a piece of meat in front of a paying audience".

Outrage over the King 5 News report also reportedly prompted Curiosities and Oddities' to cancel another similar event that was originally due to take place on Halloween night.