A Texas mother is demanding that the \u201cReal Bodies\u201d exhibit perform a DNA test on one of its preserved bodies that she insists belongs to her 23-year-old son, who died in suspicious circumstances in 2012.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 10, 2012, Chris Erick, 23, was found dead in his bed at his grandmother\u2019s home in Midlothian, Texas, about 30 miles south of Dallas, where he had been living at the time.<\/p>\n
At the time, police informed his mother \u2013 Kim Erick \u2013 that her son had died in his sleep after suffering two heart attacks, which they attributed to an undiagnosed heart condition, CBS News reports.<\/p>\n
Two days later, the grieving mother viewed the body of her son at a local funeral home and then \u2013 without consulting her first \u2013 Chris\u2019s father and grandmother arranged for his cremation, giving Erick a necklace containing what she was told were some of his ashes.<\/p>\n
\u2018Something very bad happened\u2019
\nDespite the official explanation, Erick remained unsettled.<\/p>\n
Her concerns intensified when she received a set of police scene photographs, which she said showed a series of troubling physical signs that were never mentioned in the initial report.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething very bad happened in that room!\u201d she shared in a Facebook post that included graphic images of the young man, dead in his bed. \u201cThey had Chris in there for two days before he died. The medical examiner who did the autopsy said Chris suffered two separate heart attacks. In my opinion, Christopher was tortured for the two days he was held in his grandmother\u2019s house in Midlothian Texas. That is where Christopher died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cyanide toxicity
\nAccording to Erick, the images revealed extensive bruising, lacerations, and what appeared to be clear restraint marks across her son\u2019s chest, arms, and abdomen. She also described seeing what looked like dry cyanide residue on his lips.<\/p>\n
These findings led her to press for further testing, and approximately one month after her son\u2019s death, the Dallas County Medical Examiner tested a preserved vial of his blood, CBS reports.<\/p>\n
The results confirmed her suspicions \u2013 a lethal concentration of cyanide was found in Chris\u2019s system, prompting officials to revise the cause of death from cardiac arrest to cyanide toxicity. The manner of death was changed to \u201cundetermined.\u201d
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