The man who made millions stealing skin and bones from corpses

Ash Woods
Ash Woods
Sep 2, 2018 · 10 min read
Illustration of resurrectionists at work, accompanying the story of John Holmes and Peter Williams, whipped for stealing dead bodies. By Hablot Knight Browne (1815–1882)

Lee Cruceta fired up his electric saw as he prepared to harvest the spine of the corpse.

The body was scheduled to be cremated, so it had been a straight forward job. If there was a funeral viewing, he would have sawn off only the legs. Taking off just the legs may sound like a simple procedure, but there was a technique to it.

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Ash Woods

Written by

Ash Woods

I write about history and true crime

The Crime Historian

True crimes and historical crimes

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