Before examining magistrate Adrien Lallement, on 1er June, Jean-Rémy H., 46, recognizes it without make-up: as “Almost all those” who worked there, he had become accustomed to his “Terrible working conditions” and the unsanitary premises of the Center du don des corps (CDC) in rue des Saints-Pères, in Paris, as well as “Odors” and to ” dirtiness “.
“I understand that from an outside eye, it is unacceptable and that it can shock (…). We started with that so we got used to it ”, said the former head of CDC preparers on 1er June, during his examination for appearance, the minutes of which were consulted by The world. His testimony illustrates the excesses – revealed by The Express in November 2019 – related to the conservation and use of remains at the CDC, the largest anatomical center in France, founded in 1953 and attached to the University of Paris-Descartes (which in January became the University of Paris, after the merger with his colleague Paris-Diderot and the Institut de physique du globe).
The smell of putrefaction, dismembered and unused bodies, blackouts in cold rooms, mass cremation, proliferation of flies, worms and rats … The scandal prompted 170 relatives of the deceased to file a complaint against X and resulted in the closure administrative office of the CDC in November 2019. For her part, the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Frédérique Vidal, carried out an inspection, the conclusions of which indicated, in June 2020, the ” responsibility “ of the University.
Skulls, jewelry and teeth at home
Jean-Rémy H. was indicted on April 14, as part of the judicial investigation opened, in July 2020, by the public health center of the Paris prosecutor’s office for “undermining the integrity of a corpse dealing with the conditions of storage and provision of bodies ”within the CDC. Justice suspects the forty-something “To have, between November 30, 2013 and January 31, 2018, undermined the respect and integrity of the bodies of people who have donated their bodies to science, in particular by recovering gold teeth from the bodies and jewelry, stabbing them and leaving them voluntarily at the mercy of rodents ”.
Before him, another ex-preparer of the CDC had been indicted on the same count, in December 2020. Now retired, this septuagenarian worked from 1975 to 2011 at the CDC. Various bones, several skulls, jewelry and teeth had been found at his homes by investigators. In the spring of 2021, the University of Paris and Frédéric Dardel, former president of Paris-Descartes (2011-2019), were also indicted for “attacking the integrity of a corpse”.
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