Mortuary technician has medical licence cancelled after sharing image of dissected human skull, making inappropriate online comments

The mortuary technician had his registration cancelled after engaging in a raft of inappropriate conversations and sharing images on social media. Photo / 123rf

A mortuary technician who shared an image of a dissected human skull on social media and discussed the merits of cannibalism and eating human tissue has been stripped of his medical registration.

The man, whose name is suppressed, made numerous inappropriate comments on Discord and Instagram while working as a forensic pathology (mortuary) technician and was in training to conduct autopsies on homicide victims.

“When we have burn victims. They smell so good sometimes,” he commented on one post, while in another, he bragged about having decapitated someone.

He also engaged in online conversations about sexualising and abusing children, drug use and making explosives.

According to the Health Practitioner’s Disciplinary Tribunal’s decision released today, it was not clear if the image of the skull he shared was one he had personally dissected or one that was housed at the mortuary where he worked.

The decision said the man’s actions, which the tribunal described as “immoral and repugnant”, came to light after an anonymous tip to a district health board and to the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

A subsequent employment investigation resulted in charges of malpractice being laid against him before the tribunal.

‘I’ve personally decapitated a b****’

According to the summary of facts, the man began work at a mortuary as a registered medical technician.

In recent years, he was being trained to undertake homicide autopsies.

However, he began suffering health problems and later resigned from his role, and then surrendered his practising certificate in March 2023.

In the meantime, the anonymous tip had been made in January 2023, providing evidence of social media posts the man had made.

The evidence included 65 images, including photographs and screenshots of social media posts and conversations.

In some of those conversations, the man had described the photos held on the mortuary computer as good “meme” images and answered other platform users about his work.

“I’ve personally decapitated a b**** so we can boil her head and examine for microfractures that might correlate with a suspected bruise. We boil all the flesh off,” he replied to one user.

He also said he could steal an “entire heart”, while talking to users about cannibalism, and potentially providing post-mortem tissue to a third party.

The man also responded generally to questions about his opinion on cannibalism, stating, “there’s nothing bad about it apart from the dangers of eating human meat”.

One user asked if the man could obtain a specific sex organ for them to eat.

“If you do that, I’ll make it happen, but no backing out. I demand that content,” the man responded.

Breach of dignity and cultural safety

The man initially denied any involvement in the posts and said the claims were “heinous, baseless and outrageous accusations”.

He didn’t engage with a Professional Conduct Committee appointed by the Medical Sciences Council of New Zealand, but by the time charges made their way to the tribunal, the man had accepted he was responsible for the posts.

He engaged a lawyer and told the tribunal, by way of explanation of his behaviour, that he had ADHD, anxiety and suffered sleeplessness and panic attacks and he had a mental health crisis that coincided with the posts he made.

Counsel for the committee, Jo Hughson, told the tribunal in December last year that technicians were required to protect the dignity and cultural safety of their patients.

Hughson said the man had shown little insight into how his conduct affected the family members of the deceased, whose bodies were stored at the mortuary where he worked.

The posts were made at a time when he was a practising medical technician and when he became aware that concerns about his behaviour had been raised with his employer, he erased most of the content, Hughson said.

Then, in posts made in mid-February 2023, he threatened the anonymous tipster, including threatening legal action against them.

‘Repugnant and immoral’

The tribunal described the technician’s behaviour as “grotesque and highly offensive” and was a serious deviation from the standards expected of someone in his profession.

“His conduct in posting these was repugnant and immoral.

“Members of the public would be appalled to think that someone who is entrusted with the very sensitive role of caretaker of the bodies of the deceased for further investigation should behave in such a manner.”

The tribunal said dealing with the deceased required sensitivity, respect and compassion and there was no possibility of him keeping his medical registration.

As such, it cancelled his registration and ordered him to pay $20,000 in legal costs.

Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū, covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.