The mother of Chris Todd Erick has shared a new and troubling theory about what may have happened to her son’s remains, after a museum rejected her claim that his body was on display in a public exhibition.
Chris died in 2012 at age 23. His death was first ruled a suicide, but his mother, Kim Erick, believed he had been killed. Her concerns led to a new investigation two years later. That probe found that Chris died from cyanide poisoning. However, because investigators found no signs of foul play, the death was again ruled a suicide by “undetermined means.”
In 2018, Kim’s grief resurfaced when she saw an exhibit from Real Bodies, a global show featuring preserved human bodies. She believed one of the displays—known as “The Thinker”—was actually her son. She said the resemblance was overwhelming and described the experience as “gut-wrenching.”
Kim requested DNA testing of the displayed body.
However, Imagine Exhibitions, Inc., the company that runs Real Bodies, denied her claim. The company stated that the specimen in question had been on display since 2004—eight years before Chris died—and that its records prove it is not linked to him. It also said that all bodies in the exhibit are “ethically sourced and biologically unidentifiable.”
After the museum rejected her theory, Kim raised a new possibility. She explained that no funeral was held for Chris and that her ex-partner, Chris’ father, arranged his cremation while she was still grieving. Because of this, she now fears her son’s ashes may not have been handled correctly.
Her concerns sharpened after authorities discovered piles of human cremated remains in a rural area of Nevada earlier this year. In July, a passerby found what appeared to be hundreds of ash piles outside the town of Searchlight, south of Las Vegas. Officials later confirmed that 315 sets of cremated remains were found. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is now trying to determine where they came from.
Kim says she wants the ashes tested to see whether her son could be among them. “I’d like to see the 300 piles of human cremains tested for DNA to determine who these people were,” she told The Sun.
Imagine Exhibitions, Inc. maintains that there is no connection between Chris and the Real Bodies displays, saying:
“We extend our sympathy to the family, but there is no factual basis for these allegations. The referenced specimen has been on continuous display in Las Vegas since 2004 and cannot be associated with the individual named in these claims.”
Investigators continue to examine the Nevada cremains case, but no link to Chris has been confirmed.
