Doneysha Smith spent over a year grieving her stillborn son Lux, unaware his remains had become commodities in a shocking multistate trafficking scheme. Human remains trafficking revelations emerged when the FBI disclosed Arkansas mortuary workers sold Lux’s body alongside dozens of other victims. Now Smith’s family spearheads Lux’s Law, passed by Arkansas senators this week to criminalize these acts.
Former mortuary employee Candace Chapman Scott faces 15 years for selling 24 boxes of fetal remains and body parts via Facebook to buyers in Pennsylvania. Prosecutors confirm Lux’s body was among those traded across state lines for $11,000.
My son wasn’t even able to get to his final resting place,Smith told investigators during an emotional interview in Sherwood.
State Senator Fred Love introduced Lux’s Law after learning Arkansas lacks specific bans on selling remains meant for burial. The bill mandates 3-10 year sentences and $10,000 fines, closing loopholes in existing corpse abuse laws. Only eight states broadly prohibit human remains sales nationwide, according to Wake Forest University legal expert Tanya Marsh.
The trauma deepened when DNA tests revealed the ashes returned to Smith weren’t her child’s. It was like reliving his passing all over again,said grandmother Lynnell Logan. Forensic teams ultimately recovered Lux’s remains during the 2023 solar eclipse – a date the family considers spiritually significant.
[ul][li]Minnesota’s 2023 felony law targeting skull sales[/li][li]Existing Arkansas corpse abuse statutes[/li][li]Harvard Medical School’s connection to earlier remains theft cases[/li][/ul]
Smith now keeps Lux’s authentic ashes in a lantern engraved with poignant verses and a memorial necklace. Through Lux’s Law, she transforms personal tragedy into systemic change.
He’s shining light on something so dark,Smith said. The name Lux Siloam – meaning sent light– now symbolizes legislative hope for hundreds of affected families.
