Outrage as live AUTOPSY is carried out on WW2 veteran, 98, who died of COVID at $500-a-ticket ‘Oddities and Curiosities’ event in Portland Marriott ballroom

 A 98 year-old World War Two veteran who died of COVID donated his body to medical science - only for it to be dissected in front of a live audience at a $500-a-ticket event in a Portland Marriott hotel ballroom.   

The body of David Saunders, of Baton Rouge in Louisiana, was sliced open and examined before a paying crowd in the conference room of a Marriott hotel in Portland on October 17. Audience members came to see a ‘cadaver class’ put on by a group called Death Science, as part of an 'Oddities and Curiosities' event. 

That dissection was open to all members of the public, and was not reserved solely for scientists with a professional interest in the autopsy.  

Saunders' stunned widow Elsie, 92, says she had no idea her late husband's body would be used for a 'pay-per-view' autopsy. She has condemned the event, and says she is considering legal action over her partner's remains being treated like 'a piece of meat' for entertainment. 

Her late husband served as a US Merchant Marine on the SS Mayo Brothers liberty ship during World War Two, with the supplies vessel deployed in European and Pacific waters.

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The image above shows a live, pay-per-view autopsy held in a Portland, Oregon hotel room on October 17

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Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired professor of anatomy who taught at the University of Montana in Missoula, dissected limbs and removed organs, including the brain, before a live audience of people who paid up to $500 per ticket

His corpse ended up in the ballroom after being donated to for-profit firm Med Ed Labs in Las Vegas, who then sold the remains to 'macabre artist' and Death Science founder Jeremy Ciliberto. 

Ciliberto claimed that the company he bought the corpse from knew that it was going to be used for research, but the Las Vegas-based firm said that it was under the impression the body would be used to teach medical students. 

Ciliberto added that serology tests were also performed on Saunders' remains to ensure there was no risk of COVID infection.  

The autopsy was held as part of an 'Oddities and Curiosities' event series, whose titillating website describes its events as 'for lovers of the strange, unusual and bizarre'. 

Grim video footage shot by an undercover journalist showed Saunders' remains being dissected under the spotlights of a ballroom normally used to host weddings and corporate events by an anatomist in a gray t-shirt.

The live autopsy on Saunders’ body was performed for an audience at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, KING 5 News was first to report.

It is unclear when Saunders died. He headed a Baton Rouge-based electrical firm and lived in a retirement village during his later years. 

According to one of the attendees, a corpse draped in a white sheet was placed on a table in the center of the ballroom.

VIP customers who paid $500 per ticket sat in the front row just a few inches away.

Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired professor of anatomy who taught at the University of Montana in Missoula, removed the sheet from the body, exposing the corpse of a man who ‘had donated his body to science.’

Henderson then used a surgical knife to cut into the chest cavity, head, and limbs of the corpse.

The retired professor removed several limbs, organs, and the brain. 

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The event was staged by an organization called Death Science. According to its web site, Death Science ‘is an educational platform focused on the scientific fields of forensic, medical, and mortuary science’ that ‘collaborates with industry experienced professionals...to teach students around the world’

During the hours-long procedure, Henderson told the audience members that this was exactly how he taught medical students throughout his academic career.

According to Henderson's bio, he received his Ph.D. in biology from the University of New Mexico in 1985.

His expertise is one that is 'emphasizes the physiological ecology of insect and mammalian diet selection relative to plant biochemical defenses.'

Since 1986, he has taught anatomy and physiology courses to students majoring in the health professions. 

According to its web site, Death Science ‘is an educational platform focused on the scientific fields of forensic, medical, and mortuary science’ that ‘collaborates with industry experienced professionals...to teach students around the world.’

But Saunders’ widow Elsie is among those who have condemned the macabre event - which was taped by an undercover journalist, and says her family had no idea Saunders' remains would be used for a public for-profit ‘pay-per-view’ autopsy.

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The corpse was that of David Saunders, 98, a World War Two veteran who died of COVID-19 and donated his body to science

The 92-year-old widow told KING-TV that she was ‘horrified’ that her husband was ‘treated like a piece of meat in front of a paying audience.’

The body was prepared by undertakers in Saunders' native Louisiana, then given to Med Ed Labs, a Las Vegas-based for-profit company ‘established to provide medical and surgical education and training for the advancement of medical and surgical innovation.’ DailyMail.com has contacted Med Ed Labs for a comment.

Mike Clark, a funeral director in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, handled the preparation of Saunders’ body for Church Funeral Services and Crematory. 

He told KING 5 he and his staff were horrified by what happened.

'Our whole staff was horrified that this is what had happened to a gentleman that he and his family thought that his body was going for the advancement of medical students,' Clark said. 

Greg Clark, one of the owners of the funeral home, told DailyMail.com: 'We are extremely saddened for Mr. Saunders widow and have no additional public comments concerning this case. 

'The time and place of death is not information that we are allowed to share.' 

People donate the bodies of their loved ones to companies like Med Ed Labs in order to avoid the high cost of burial, and receive an urn of ashes whenever the research is complete. 

Ciliberto, a macabre artist and founder of Death Science who organized the event known as the Oddities and Curiosities Expo, said he paid Med Ed Labs ‘north’ of $10,000 for each cadaver.

According to Ciliberto, Med Ed Labs was aware of his plans for the corpse.

'Yes, Med Ed Labs was aware of the course,' Ciliberto told DailyMail.com in an emailed statement on Wednesday. 

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The event was held as part of the 'Oddities and Curiosities Expo', which bills itself as a show for 'lovers of the strange, unusual, and bizarre'

'Death Science partnered with Med Ed Labs and was in direct contact with Med Lab Ed, specifically, Obteen Nassiri, for multiple months leading up to the course including, but not limited to, the fact that the attendees are not exclusively medical students and ticket sales.'

According to Ciliberto, Med Ed Labs provided the cadaver as well as the anatomist who performed the autopsy, Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired college professor. 

Med Ed Labs also booked the venue for the cadaver class, according to Ciliberto. 

The Death Science founder told DailyMail.com that Med Ed Labs 'was responsible for the handling of the cadaver before, during and after the event.' 

When asked if Saunders' next of kin gave their consent to the autopsy, Ciliberto told DailyMail.com that his company 'does not have access to personal information for cadavers provided. 

'The personal information including cause of death and donation agreement is only available to the medical partner and the funeral director.'

When asked if Death Science was aware that the cadaver belonged to someone who died of COVID-19, Ciliberto responded: 'Death Science is not provided with the cause of death, but, Med Ed Labs did complete and provide Death Science with a serology test confirming that the cadaver provided did not have any infectious diseases present. 

'The anatomist provided by Med Ed Labs also confirmed this during the course.' 

DailyMail.com has sought a response from Nassiri and Med Ed Labs.    

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The expo's 'cadaver lab classes' feature real-life autopsies and dissections of human bodies performed before a live audience. The expo's October 31 show scheduled to take place in Seattle on Halloween was canceled due to the backlash

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Jeremy Ciliberto, a macabre artist and founder of Death Science who organized the event known as the Oddities and Curiosities Expo, said he paid Med Ed Labs ‘north’ of $10,000 for each cadaver

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The autopsy was performed by Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired science professor from the University of Montana in Missoula

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The event was held at Marriott Downtown Waterfront in Portland after it was moved there from a different Marriott hotel.

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The cadaver class was initially scheduled to be held at the Downtown Courtyard Marriott (above), but pressure from the county coroner led to its cancellation

But the chief medical examiner in Portland said this wasn’t true.

Kimberly DiLeo, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner, said that a Med Ed Labs supervisor told her the company had no idea the body would be used for a live event.

'Their supervisor was unaware of the deceased being used for this event,' DiLeo said.

'We feel that this was not respectful and certainly not ethical.’ A Med Ed Labs spokesman told KING-TV that Ciliberto had been 'dishonest' when obtaining the corpse. DailyMail.com has contacted Med Ed and Ciliberto for further comment. 

Ciliberto later told KING-TV: 'Any concerns about the cadaver have always been addressed by the lab.

'Again I am not the lab, I am the host.'

He also added: 'I can guarantee that that man knew his body would be used for medical research.' 

But Ciliberto did not say that Saunders' knew his body would be dissected for a paying audience at a hotel, rather than in the expected setting of a private laboratory. 

The cadaver class was initially scheduled to be held at the Downtown Courtyard Marriott, but DiLeo pressured the hotel to cancel it.

When the organizers moved the event to the Marriott Downtown Waterfront, DiLeo once again tried to persuade the managers at the hotel to not allow it to go forward. The hotel refused.

A subsequent autopsy scheduled by Ciliberto to be held at another Marriott in Seattle on October 31 - Halloween - has since been canceled amid outrage over the Portland event. 

'We follow detailed protocols to protect safety…,' Martin McAllister, the general manager of the Marriott Downtown Waterfront, told KING-TV.

'We are aware of concerns regarding a recent event and we are looking into them further, but as a matter of privacy, we do not discuss details of guests or groups.'

DailyMail.com has contacted Marriott seeking further comment. 

Ciliberto told DailyMail.com that the hotel was aware there would be a live autopsy on a human body and that a paid audience was going to attend to see it.

He said Med Ed Labs booked the hotel.

'Yes, while the venue was booked by Med Ed Labs, Death Science was in direct contact with the hotel who provided full set up of the space the course was held in including the transportation of the cadaver, lighting, positioning the table, chairs, electronics and spoke directly with Med Ed Labs to confirm all safety precautions were in place and followed,' Ciliberto told DailyMail.com. 

At least two attendees who saw the show told KING 5 TV that Henderson was respectful toward the corpse.

'It was very educational,' one attendee who goes by the name 'Monica' said.

'It was very respectful to the person that donated their body.'

Christine, a Portland resident, said: 'They're not doing anything that I would, if it was my own family member, be upset about.'

A similar event scheduled to take place on Halloween in Seattle was cancelled due to public reaction. 

Death Science also offers 'eCourses' that are taught with 'hyperrealistic simulated scenarios on sets with actors, props, body paint, fake blood, FBI quality ballistics gel, handmade bones created with special resin that mimics human bone tensile strength, and more special effects.'

There's a forensic pathology eCourse that covers topics including 'autopsy basics,' death by poison gases, death by fire, toxicology and drug deaths, and electrocution.