Florida woman arrested for allegedly selling human bones via Facebook marketplace
New Delhi: A 52-year-old woman from Florida, Kymberlee Schopper, has been arrested for allegedly trading in human bones including skull fragments and ribs through Facebook Marketplace. Authorities said the sales were conducted through her Orange City-based business, ‘Wicked Wonderland’.
Schopper was taken into custody on April 11 and later released on a $7,500 bond from Volusia County Jail. The arrest followed a months-long investigation initiated on December 21, 2023, when Orange City Police received a tip-off about the alleged sale of human remains through a business’s Facebook page.
Police reviewed images shared by the informant, which appeared to show listings of human bones on social media. The business was identified as ‘Wicked Wonderland’, located on North Volusia Avenue. A subsequent review of its website revealed several items for sale, including skull fragments, a clavicle, scapula, rib, vertebra, and a partial skull.
Law enforcement officials visited the store and collected the remains, which were later sent to the medical examiner’s office for analysis. During questioning, one of the business owners confirmed that human bones had been sold for years and stated they were purchased from private sellers. While the owner claimed to have documentation for the transactions, it was not produced at the time.
According to the arrest affidavit cited by FOX 35 Orlando, Schopper described the remains as authentic and delicate. She reportedly believed they were legal to sell under state law, categorizing them as educational models.
However, experts examining the recovered items concluded that some remains could be archaeological in nature. One skull fragment was estimated to be over 100 years old, while another bone appeared to be more than 500 years old. Schopper now faces charges related to the illegal sale and purchase of human tissue under Florida law.
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Retired army colonel, wife duped of Rs 49 lakh in 'digital arrest' scam
Hamirpur, Apr 18 (PTI): Cybercriminals allegedly placed a retired Indian Army colonel and his wife under "digital arrest" and duped them of Rs 49 lakh in this Himachal Pradesh district, police said on Friday.
The complainant received a video call on WhatsApp in which a man introduced himself as an "officer of the Mumbai Crime Branch". The suspected fraudster claimed that the retired army officer's Aadhaar was used to procure four SIM cards and open a bank account in Mumbai that was used to launder Rs 2 crore.
The fraudster also threatened to look into the couple's bank accounts.
The victims were under "supervision" of the fraudster for almost 11 hours a day since first receiving a call on March 23. They were also kept on video call while transferring money via RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) to the account number provided by the accused, according to the complaint lodged by the retired army officer.
Claiming that the source of the couple's funds was being investigated, the accused demanded money and the complainant transferred Rs 9 lakh on March 29 and Rs 40 lakh on April 4.
The couple were kept under "digital arrest" till April 7. When they realised they had been cheated, they approached the police on April 10.
A case of cheating was registered at the Cyber Crime police station in Mandi and Rs 5.58 lakh frozen in some suspicious accounts. The accused had moved the money that the couple had transferred to 22 accounts, the police said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Cyber Crime) Mohit Chawla said the law did not have any provision for "digital arrest".
"Do not fall prey to fraudsters and lose your life's savings. If you receive any such call or message, contact the toll free 1930 number," he added.
