Kansas to seize human remains stored by man banned, for now, from doing autopsies
A Shawnee County judge has appointed an agency to take control of the space used by a Leawood man temporarily banned from conducting autopsies in Kansas, according to the state attorney general.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will take control of the Topeka premises used by 37-year-old Shawn Parcells, a self-taught pathology assistant with no formal education, while he faces criminal charges and a lawsuit, the attorney general said.
The health department plans to conduct an inventory of the biological samples, mostly tissue believed to be human remains, stored by Parcells. The department will store the samples and release them to family members who request them, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a statement Tuesday. Unclaimed or unidentified samples will be destroyed, he said.
Because of the statutes of limitations in civil litigation, requests for the release of samples will be prioritized, according to Judge Mary Christopher’s order. Parcells and his affiliated companies have failed to provide a complete inventory of the samples, she said.
“Time is of the essence,” Christopher wrote.
In documents provided to The Star, Eric Kjorlie, a Topeka-based attorney representing Parcells, wrote that Parcells did not oppose the appointment of a receiver to protect the samples, calling it proper because he was unable to rent and maintain the space.
Parcells requested he be present during the inventory. The judge, however, ordered he not be there.
The space is located at 516 SW Third Street in Topeka.
The attorney general asked that anyone who believes their family members’ biological samples may be in possession of Parcells, and who wants to request they be returned, to call 800-432-2310.
Autopsy ban
In March, a Shawnee County district judge temporarily banned Parcells and his companies from conducting autopsies, forensic pathology and tissue recovery until a lawsuit alleging violations of Kansas’ consumer protection and false claims acts were resolved.
The lawsuit, filed by Schmidt’s office, alleged Parcells contracted with Wabaunsee County to conduct coroner-ordered autopsies and failed to complete them in accordance with Kansas law.
Coroner-ordered autopsies in Kansas are to be performed by qualified pathologists. The lawsuit indicated Parcells, who has no degree or license in the healing arts, allegedly conducted many of the autopsies without a pathologist and billed the county for at least 14 autopsies that weren’t performed.
Parcells accepted payments for private autopsies but failed to perform them, the lawsuit contended. It also noted some families who asked Parcells’ business to conduct autopsies believed he had medical qualifications.
Parcells also faces criminal charges. He was charged in Wabaunsee County District Court with three felony counts of theft and three misdemeanor counts of criminal desecration in regard to the autopsies. A preliminary hearing is set for next year.
Parcells, who has said he is not a physician, has faced scrutiny before. In 2013, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that some medical examiners in Missouri questioned whether Parcells performed autopsies without a medical license, inflated his qualifications and listed doctors on reports who weren’t present for autopsies.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 10:18 AM.
