‘Shocked’ members of Congress from Texas seek answers on unclaimed bodies used for research

This article is part of “Dealing the Dead,” a series investigating the use of unclaimed bodies for medical research.

Two members of Congress are pressing officials for answers after NBC News exposed failures to notify relatives of dead people whose bodies were used for medical research. The politicians also asked about compensation for those families.

Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Marc Veasey, both Democrats from Texas, made the requests Wednesday in a letter to medical examiners in Dallas and Tarrant counties, citing an NBC News investigation that found the counties had provided hundreds of unclaimed bodies to the University of North Texas Health Science Center without obtaining consent from the deceased or their next of kin. The center dissected many of those bodies and leased out the parts for use by other medical schools, for-profit research companies and the Army.

Reporters found numerous cases in which family members were reachable but never contacted — and were later horrified to learn from reporters what had happened to their relatives’ bodies. 

Crockett and Veasey, who each represent parts of Dallas and Tarrant counties, said they were “shocked” that the unclaimed bodies included veterans who are entitled to federal benefits that cover military funerals. They noted a state law that requires death investigators to file affidavits stating that they have made a “diligent inquiry” to find a dead person’s family.

The Dallas and Tarrant medical examiner’s offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Health Science Center declined to comment.

The lawmakers said they were particularly concerned about the treatment of Victor Honey, whose case was highlighted by NBC News. Honey, an Army veteran, was mentally ill and homeless in Dallas when he died in September 2022. After the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office failed to find family, his body was provided to the Health Science Center, where it was cut into pieces and used by medical technology companies and the Army. His family, including an ex-wife and an adult son who shared his name and lived nearby, did not learn of his death, or how his body was used, until this year. 

“By failing to contact Mr. Honey’s family, he was deprived of the rights he earned by bravely serving our country,” Crockett and Veasey wrote. “This case alone raises serious concerns regarding how Dallas and Tarrant County investigators attempt to satisfy the ‘diligent inquiry’ requirement set forth by state law.”

The lawmakers asked the county medical examiners to answer by Nov. 30 a list of questions about their handling of unclaimed bodies, especially veterans’; their systems for finding next of kin; and whether they have plans to provide restitution to families who did not receive proper notification. 

NBC News’ reporting prompted the Health Science Center to suspend its body donation program, fire the people who ran it and hire a consulting firm to investigate its operations. Tarrant County last week adopted a new policy requiring more rigorous attempts to find next of kin.

Crockett and Veasey said that wasn’t enough.

“While we welcome these changes, they do not erase the pain and grief thousands of families are feeling as a result of the failures detailed in the investigation by NBC, nor do they ensure that proper safeguards are now in place to prevent the unapproved cremation of individuals or veterans,” they wrote.