Aurimar Iturriago Villegas, a Venezuelan migrant, was murdered in Texas while hoping to send money back to her family. Her body was donated to a medical school without her family's knowledge, and sold for parts. This story highlights the dark side of the US body trade.
Aurimar Iturriago Villegas left Venezuela hoping to lift her family out of poverty. When she was murdered, her corpse became a commodity in the U.S. body trade .
What happened to Aurimar was a matter of money, part of a pattern NBC News uncovered over the past two years: Across the United States, vulnerable people’s bodies often are mistreated and their as overwhelmed local officials grapple with rising numbers of unclaimed dead amid widespread opioid addiction, surging homelessness and increasingly fractured families.
Reporters have identified two dozen other cases in which families learned weeks, months or years later that a relative’s body had been provided to the Health Science Center.
Throughout this ordeal, Arelis has struggled — from a home with no internet, in a country with no diplomatic ties to the U.S. — to reclaim her daughter’s body.“Every night I say, ‘My God, why did you take my daughter?’” she said. “I don’t accept my daughter’s death. Not yet.” Arelis pleaded with her not to make the journey, knowing all too well that many migrants die every year attempting to cross the infamous Darién Gap — an area of treacherous rainforest, swamps and mountains that spans the border of Colombia and Panamá.
It’s not clear where the three were going, but this much is known, according to police and court records: About 12:15 a.m., 25-year-old Shardrel Webb fired a gun into the rear window of the car Aurimar was riding in. He contended that the car had forced him off the road and that he’d initially shot in self-defense. Panicked, Aurimar’s acquaintance sped to a nearby apartment complex as more gunshots rang out.
As soon as she saw the shaken expression on her younger daughter’s face that morning, Arelis’ heart sank. She cried out: “What happened?” Their attempts to glean details about Aurimar’s death and claim her body were complicated by the fact that Arelis could make and receive calls outside Venezuela through the messaging app WhatsApp, but couldn’t afford to call landlines in the U.S. As a result, much of the information the family received came second hand.
Meanwhile, Aurimar’s friends and family launched a fundraising campaign to help send her remains home. Legally, it no longer mattered that she never signed donation papers; that same day, under those “standard procedures,” Aurimar’s body was delivered to the Health Science Center’s freezers. A Health Science Center spokesperson didn't answer questions about Aurimar's case. Three months later — as Arelis slipped deeper into depression, her health declining under the stress of not knowing the whereabouts of her daughter’s body — workers placed Aurimar’s torso onto a table inside the Health Science Center’s BioSkills laboratory.
Arelis thanked the officials and asked about her daughter’s body. Although the district attorney’s office wasn’t responsible for Aurimar’s remains, spokesperson Claire Crouch said a prosecutor tracked down information and followed up to inform Arelis that her daughter had been deemed unclaimed by the county and cremated.
Venezuela Migrant Murder Body Trade Medical School
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Murdered Venezuelan Migrant's Body Sold to Medical SchoolAurimar Iturriago Villegas, a Venezuelan migrant, was murdered in Texas after crossing the US border. Her body was donated to a medical school without her family's knowledge and sold for parts.
Read more »
Venezuelan Migrant's Murdered Body Donated to Medical School, Family UnawareAurimar Iturriago Villegas, a Venezuelan migrant seeking a better life, was murdered in Texas. Her body was donated to a local medical school without her family's knowledge, and her remains were sold and cremated. Her mother, Arelis Coromoto Villegas, is unaware of what happened to her daughter's body and desperately seeks her return.
Read more »
Venezuela Migrant's Murder Turns Her Body into a Commodity in US Body TradeAurimar Iturriago Villegas, a Venezuelan migrant seeking a better life, was murdered in Texas. Unknown to her family, authorities donated her body to a medical school, where it was dissected and sold for parts. This story exposes the dark side of the US body trade and the tragic fate of unclaimed bodies.
Read more »
Venezuelan Migrant Accused of Attempted Murder in Texas House FireA Venezuelan migrant is facing attempted murder charges after allegedly setting his Texas residence on fire with three children trapped inside. The fire left a 3-year-old with serious smoke inhalation.
Read more »
Venezuelan Migrant Accused of Attempted Murder After Setting House Fire With Children InsideA Venezuelan migrant is facing attempted murder charges after allegedly setting fire to his Texas home with his three children trapped inside.
Read more »
Venezuelan Migrant Accused of Attempted Murder in House Fire with Children Trapped InsideA Venezuelan migrant is facing charges of attempted murder after allegedly setting fire to his residence in Fulshear, Texas, with his three children inside. Two teenagers escaped, while a three-year-old was rescued by police and suffered serious smoke inhalation.
Read more »