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Mother finds her dead son in a museum exhibit ⁉️😧 Kim Erick Smith’s 23-year-old son, Christopher Todd Erick, died in Midlothian, Texas, on November 10, 2012. The manner of death was ruled undetermined after toxicology showed lethal cyanide levels. Smith was listed as his emergency contact but was never notified due to paperwork labeling him “unclaimed.” His body was released without family consent and later appeared in the “Real Bodies” exhibition at Bally’s in Las Vegas as display #27 (“The Thinker”). Smith identified the figure in 2022 via a news article and in-person visit, matching facial features, height (6’1”), build, and a skull fracture. The exhibit operators state all bodies are from consented donors who died naturally and have refused DNA testing. Smith has filed legal action against the funeral home and exhibit for lack of consent and is demanding removal, DNA confirmation, and reform of unclaimed body processing laws. A petition for justice has collected thousands of signatures. No court has confirmed the body’s identity as of November 2025.