Mother’s Fight for Justice After Son’s Remains Were Stolen
For Doneysha Smith, the grief of losing her stillborn son never faded. She kept his ashes in a small urn at home and wore a necklace containing some of them, finding comfort in the memorial she had created. But in 2023, a call from the FBI shattered her world—her son’s remains had been stolen and sold as part of a multistate trafficking scheme.
“My son wasn’t even able to get to his final resting place,” Smith said from her home in Sherwood, Arkansas.
Now, Smith and her mother, Lynnell Logan, are fighting for a new Arkansas law that would make selling human remains that were supposed to be cremated or buried a felony. The bill, called Lux’s Law, after Smith’s son, has passed the Senate and is awaiting review by a House panel.
Nationwide Scheme Exposed in Mortuary Scandal
The shocking case involved Candace Chapman Scott, a former mortuary worker who pleaded guilty last year to selling 24 boxes of stolen body parts and fetal remains to a Pennsylvania man for nearly $11,000. Among the remains sold was Lux’s body.
Scott was sentenced last month to 15 years in federal prison for her role in what prosecutors called a nationwide trafficking operation. The scheme extended beyond Arkansas, involving multiple individuals who exchanged messages and pictures of body parts on social media platforms, including Facebook.
Scott’s case was part of a larger scandal that also implicated Harvard Medical School, where body parts were stolen and illegally sold.
Legislators Push for Stronger Laws to Prevent Future Crimes
After learning there were no specific Arkansas laws banning the sale of stolen human remains, State Sen. Fred Love (D-Little Rock) introduced Lux’s Law. The measure would impose a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of three to ten years for anyone convicted of selling bodies that were supposed to be cremated or buried.
“This is another form of trafficking,” Love said. “We must do something to stop it.”
Currently, only eight states have broad laws prohibiting the sale of human remains, according to Tanya Marsh, a law professor at Wake Forest University. Arkansas already criminalizes the “abuse of a corpse,” but Love’s proposal would specifically target those who profit from selling bodies intended for burial or cremation.
Other states are also cracking down. In 2023, Minnesota passed a law making it a felony to buy and sell human bones after lawmakers discovered human skulls were being sold online and in oddities shops.
A Family’s Ongoing Trauma
For Smith and Logan, the realization that Lux’s body had been trafficked reopened old wounds.
“It was like reliving his passing all over again,” Logan said. “And then you’re thinking about how he was shipped everywhere, and who all handled him. Who would do this to a baby?”
Even today, they remain uncertain about whether the ashes they originally received were even human remains.
Lux’s body has since been returned to Smith, and his ashes now rest in a small urn inside a lantern on her mantel. The glass door of the lantern bears a message:
“When tomorrow starts without me, don’t think we’re far apart. For every time you think of me, I’m right here in your heart.”
She also keeps a gold necklace containing some of his ashes draped over a teddy bear when she’s not wearing it. The FBI returned Lux’s remains on the same day as a solar eclipse—an event the family believes was symbolic.
Turning Tragedy Into Change
For Smith, her son’s name, Lux Siloam, carries deep meaning. “Lux” is Latin for “light”, and “Siloam” is Greek for “sent.” She believes he is still fulfilling a purpose.
“Even after passing away, he is still working and kind of moving things around, shining light on something so dark that people need to be aware of,” Smith said.
As Lux’s Law moves through the Arkansas legislature, Smith and Logan hope their fight will ensure that no other family has to endure the same nightmare.
