Police arrested the owner of a mortuary in Austin, Texas, after she allegedly performed experiments on corpses and forged scores of death certificates.
Adeline Ngan-Binh Bui, 50, was charged with Abuse of Corpse Without Legal Authority and Tampering with Government Records, KXAN-TV in Austin reported Wednesday.
Bui is reportedly the owner of Capital Mortuary Services, where she allegedly committed the aforementioned deeds.
She was booked into Travis County Jail on April 18 and was out on bond the next day, according to KVUE-TV in Austin.
“This case involves complexities that are not immediately apparent and should not be sensationalized,” Jessica Huynh, Bui’s attorney, said in a statement. “Our legal team remains fully committed to defending and advocating for our client … with the expectation of fairness and due process.”
An investigation began after a former embalmer for the company informed the Texas Funeral Service Commission about Bui’s alleged actions.
The employee told the TFSC that Bui issued 10 death certificates under his name without his consent.
Bui admitted to this in her arrest affidavit.
Austin Police Department investigators discovered Bui had used the employee’s name 128 times to forge or amend death certificates.
“This is a pretty usual one because somebody actually forged death certificates many times in order to facilitate the activity they were involved in,” Sam Bassett, an Austin criminal defense attorney not involved with the case, said of the situation, according to KTBC-TV in Austin.
A woman has been arrested for allegedly conducting “experiments” on corpses at a North Austin mortuary. https://t.co/CqHgbxH67A
— KVUE News (@KVUE) April 23, 2025
The employee also said Bui was doing experiments on the dead.
She reportedly would inject formaldehyde into cadaver arms to see “the effect it had over time on severed extremities,” Bui’s arrest affidavit read.
When she was done with the severed parts, she would allegedly cremate them.
The TFSC informed Austin police on April 2 that it was investigating Capital Mortuary, before issuing a cease and desist letter to the company on April 10.
Police executed a search warrant that same day.
Bui told police that she also ordered her employees to experiment with formaldehyde, including “cutting heads, arms and spines from remains sent to her facility,” Bui’s arrest affidavit read.
She said about 15 bodies had been mutilated and experimented on at the mortuary, according to KTBC.
As the Austin Police Department searched the building, they also discovered household power tools which appeared to have human tissue on them. Bui said the tools were used in the experiments.
Bui’s experiments were associated with another company called MedtoMarket, a medical training facility in Austin.
Bui said the experiments were done with the permission of the company, adding that her mortuary would report the outcomes.
When police asked the TFSC if this was legal, the agency said it was “unlawful for a commercial embalming establishment to use a dead human body for research or education purposes.”
The CEO of MedtoMarket told police that his company once had a contract with Bui’s mortuary but that it was a long time ago.
Capital Mortuary would do transport and cremation services and “would help out with dissection sometimes,” he reportedly said.
The executive said that although he would send corpse arms to Bui’s mortuary, he said it was for embalming and not for “experiment.”
Bui was ultimately charged with six felonies: one count of abuse of corpse and five counts of second-degree felony tampering with governmental records with intent to defraud or harm, according to KTBC.
She is scheduled to appear in court on May 9.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
