A 48-year-old Australian mother-of-five, Joanna Kinman, pleaded guilty to "offensive conduct involving human remains." Said charge comes after Kinman retrieved a dead man's toes from a bin at an animal shelter. She would then attempt to sell these toes online for $25 (or 400 Australian dollars).
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According to ABC, details surrounding the incident were a bit more distressing than what they appear. Reportedly, two dogs arrived at the animal shelter where Kinman worked as a ranger. These dogs belonged to a 48-year-old man who had died a while ago. The two dogs then proceeded to partially eat the man's body before it was discovered.
According to an officer, the dogs then "became ill and vomited up human remains" after they arrived at the shelter. Among the vomit lay the dead man's toes, which Kinman then retrieved and took with her to her home.
Disturbing Details
Joanna Kinman then called her daughter, reportedly boasting about having the toes and revealing her intentions of selling them online. Police, while performing a search in Kinman's home, they found the dead man's toes inside a jar, submerged in liquid preservatives. Disturbingly, police also found several items on display, including a bird skull, an alligator claw, and even teeth belonging to Kinman's children.
Moreover, it was revealed in court that Kinman was part of a group that traded specimens, describing her as an "avid contributor." Police stated that she had traded a stillborn puppy and a kitten. Additionally, Kinman owned a book titled A History of Punishment and Torture, written by Karen Farrington in 1996.
Kinman's defense attorney, Rainer Martini, stated that her client regretted her "spur-of-the-moment decision." Martini also stated that, after details of the incident became public, Martini was being harrassed by the media "It was a purely spur-of-the-moment decision and the consequences have been significantly negative to herl," Martini said, as per ABC.
While Kinman pleaded guilty to her charge, she will not spend any time in prison. She was sentenced to an 18-month community correction order. "By the barest of possible margins you will not be going to jail today," Magistrate Andrew Sim told Kinman. "You were dealing with body parts of a deceased person. That person would have expected they would have been treated with dignity and respect by any person who came into contact with their remains. You failed to do that."
