Curators for the Real Bodies human-physiology exhibition say they have conclusively determined that the anatomical figure a Texas mother identified as her son is not connected to him, pushing back against a claim that has circulated widely and reignited a previously closed death investigation.
The dispute centers on Kim Smith (formerly Erick), who believes she recognized the remains of her son, Chris Erick, in a seated, skinless figure known as “The Thinker,” part of the Real Bodies show. Smith says she first encountered an image of the specimen while searching online in 2018. According to her, the figure’s skull bore what she described as a fracture similar to one seen in postmortem photographs of Chris. She also pointed to the absence of tattoos she says her son had, arguing the removal of skin in the plastination process could account for that.
