"I Was Heartbroken to Learn My Son Took His Own Life – Then I Discovered His Body Displayed in a Museum… I Have Evidence He Was Murdered"

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Kim Erick's Discovery
• Investigation into Chris's Death
• The Real Bodies Exhibit
• Conclusion

Gazing at an image of a skinned cadaver in a disturbing exhibition of human bodies, Kim Erick felt a chill run through her.

She was convinced she was staring at the remains of her son, Chris Todd Erick. He had died at the age of 23, his death classified as a suicide but surrounded by mystery amid a murder investigation and claims of a poisoning plot. Could his remains have turned up… in a gruesome museum exhibition?

Chris Todd Erick was found deceased in 2012Credit: Supplied His mother Kim is determined to uncover the truth Kim identified this body in the Real Bodies exhibition in Las Vegas as her son’sCredit: AP

Kim, 54, from Texas, told The Sun: “I knew it was him. It was incredibly painful to look at. My words cannot express how this affected me and my family deeply.”

“I was actually viewing photos of my son’s skinned, butchered body. It is heart-wrenching.”

Now, Kim is advocating for the Real Bodies exhibit in Las Vegas to conduct DNA testing on the body – which has since disappeared – in an effort to find the answers she desperately seeks.

The exhibition, located within the Horseshoe hotel, promotes an immersive experience through the human body, displaying over 20 real, perfectly preserved human specimens.

Kim states: “As Chris’s mother, I recognize every detail about him.”

“Things did not add up. I needed to uncover the truth about what happened to my son.”

Chris and Kim shared a “very close bond,” with Kim noting they were nearly inseparable until her separation from his father.

Then, on November 10, 2012, Kim was thrust into every mother’s worst nightmare when Chris was discovered dead at his grandmother’s house in Midlothian, Texas.

She was informed that he had died after suffering two heart attacks caused by a heart defect, and two days after his death, Kim was able to view his body for the last time at a home in Midlothian.

In her grief, Chris’s father – Kim’s former partner – managed the cremation process.

However, Kim claims a funeral was never organized by the family.

A few days later, she received a necklace containing a small amount of ashes.

Feeling that there was more to Chris’s death, Kim requested the photos taken at the scene from the Midlothian Police Department – and weeks later, she received six pictures which, she asserts, depict his body covered in bruises and lacerations.

She shared with The Sun: “The images were extremely disturbing. [There was a chair with straps that matched] restraining marks across Chris’s arms, chest, and abdomen.”

Kim claims that the right temple of Chris’s skull was fractured, and the pictures allegedly showed dry cyanide salt on his lips.

After imploring investigators to further examine Chris’s death, the medical examiner tested a vial of his blood and discovered a lethal amount of cyanide in his system.

His cause of death was then reclassified to cyanide toxicity, a month after he passed away.

The inconsistencies and the poisoning led Kim to believe that Chris was murdered.

Kim Erick Smith and her son Chris, who died unexpectedly in 2012Credit: Facebook/ Kim Erick Smith