Kansas man convicted of illegally performing autopsies

ALMA, Kan. (TCD) -- A 42-year-old man was found guilty on charges relating to illegally performing autopsies in 2014 and 2015.

According to the Kansas Attorney General's Office, a jury convicted Shawn Parcells of three counts of felony theft and three counts of criminal desecration, which is a misdemeanor. He will be sentenced Jan. 10, 2022.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in his statement Parcells received money on three separate occasions to perform autopsies. Parcells, however, "had unauthorized control of the bodies." Kansas state law reportedly requires a pathologist to perform the autopsies, which did not occur in Parcells' case.

Parcells also faces civil complaints in Shawnee County District Court. He reportedly spoke with Wabaunsee County officials "to conduct coroner-ordered autopsies and failed to complete them in accordance with Kansas law." Once again, he reportedly performed these autopsies without the presence of a pathologist and defrauded 82 people.

The statement says investigators from the state seized over 1,600 biological samples that Parcells collected.

According to KCUR, Parcells garnered some fame when he reportedly acted as an expert in the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Parcells is neither a physician nor pathologist. He reportedly owned the Topeka-based National Autopsy Services. Over the course of about three years from May 11, 2016, to May 9, 2019, he reportedly received $1.1 million in business from 375 clients. Parcells worked as a pathologist assistant for the Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office in Missouri from 1996 to 2003, the Capital-Journal reports.

Parcells faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, according to the Capital-Journal.

According to the Attorney General's Office, Parcells is banned from performing autopsies while his civil suit remains pending.

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