In a shocking and gut-wrenching incident, a 48-year-old woman, Joanna Kathlyn Kinman, from Lilydale, in Melbourne’s east, pleaded guilty after she picked up a dead man’s toes from an animal shelter bin and thought to sell it for $400 online. The Australian native reportedly worked as a ranger when people brought two dogs to the shelter in 2024.
The mother of five pleaded guilty to offensive conduct involving human remains. Police prosecutor Senior Constable Melissa Sambrooks revealed that the dogs belonged to a man who had been dead for some time and that the dogs had eaten parts of his body before they found the remains of it.
As per The Irish Star, the dogs’ owner died a while ago; then, they were shifted to another shelter. It was only when the dogs fell sick and vomited the human remains, that the toes were found.
“The dogs “became ill and vomited up human remains” when they were taken to the shelter officer, Sambrooks confirmed. Reportedly, Joanna later stole them and took them home.
Meanwhile, before the trial, Judge Andrew Sim Andrew Simf found her actions weird. Moreover, court documents revealed that she had retrieved two “clearly identifiable” human toes from a trash can and taken them home, making the judge question how Kinman thought her actions were not considered a serious crime.
The case events happened in the latter part of last year, but Joanna Kathlyn Kinman pleaded guilty this week. As per sources, Kinman acknowledged taking the toes and that she planned to sell them or give them away.
View this post on Instagram
“Cool, it’s a toe,” she told the police. Furthermore, the accused reportedly bragged about the disgusting “human toes” to her daughter and her idea to sell them online, as she was part of a community called “Bone Buddies Australia.”
Moreover, when the police arrived, they found the toes preserved in a jar alongside other creepy animal remains like a guinea pig trotter, a bird skull, and her children’s teeth. That’s not all; Joanna had reportedly sold a wet specimen of a newborn puppy and kitten.
Magistrate Sim sentenced Kinman to 18 months of community corrections, including 150 hours of community service. While the guilty refrained from being in a regular prison, the crime she committed of offensive conduct of human remains has a sentence of 2 years in jail. Joanna Kathlyn did not comment outside the court but her defence lawyer, Rainer Martini, said that her actions were spontaneous.
View this post on Instagram
According to The Mob Museum, the global wildlife trade in living and dead animals alongside human organ trafficking has become the four largest criminal rackets. Several oversized rackets exploit innocent animals (and even human organs) for various reasons, including personal and business gains.
Sadly, William Woody, chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said that the entire racket, which was once done carefully in isolated small groups and places, has become an international crime syndicate, putting the future of the planet in jeopardy.
View this post on Instagram
The United Nations 2014 estimated profits from this black market at $7 billion to $23 billion each year, placing it fourth behind human, firearms, and drug trafficking profits.
