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DETROIT (AP) — A judge says federal authorities can cremate hundreds of remains that have been in cold storage since a raid at a Detroit lab in 2013.
The government in January won a conviction against a body parts broker, Arthur Rathburn. He was accused of providing some body parts for medical training without disclosing that they were infected with hepatitis or HIV.
The government's case focused on just a small portion of the remains that were seized. But all of them couldn't be moved until after the investigation and trial. Prosecutors now want to cremate the remains and return them to families.
Federal Judge Paul Borman gave approval Monday. Rathburn is serving a nine-year prison sentence.
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