In a bizarre and disturbing turn of events, two deceased inmates from Alabama state prisons were discovered to be missing vital organs upon their return to grieving families, adding a macabre twist to the already grim circumstances.

74-year-old Charles Edward Singleton, who passed away while in the custody of the state Department of Corrections in November 2021, had his body returned without its brain, according to court documents uncovered by ABC 33/40 News. The autopsy, conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Pathology, revealed a shocking absence of organs. When his family requested his body be prepared for viewing at a Pell City funeral home, they were met with distressing news about the body’s state of decomposition, including advanced skin slippage. To their horror, the funeral director informed them that Singleton’s body arrived without any organs, usually stored in a bag and reinserted during the preparation process. Strangely, the university claimed they never received Singleton’s organs when the family sought clarification.

This unsettling revelation comes on the heels of another disturbing incident within the Alabama prison system. In early December, the family of 43-year-old Brandon Dotson initiated a federal lawsuit after discovering that his heart was missing from his body. A pathologist conducting a second autopsy on Dotson, who died at Ventress Correctional Facility in mid-November, found that his heart was not in his chest, leading to an inconclusive examination.

The family’s lawyer, Lauren Faraino, expressed profound shock at the situation, stating, ‘There are very few things that shock me anymore in this system. But there is something so grotesque and disrespectful and unacceptable about taking the organ from a person without the family knowing.’ The family’s lawsuit alleges deliberate illegal activity or gross negligence in the handling of Dotson’s body, emphasising that a missing heart raises questions about the entities responsible for its custody before being turned over to the family for burial.

These unsettling incidents have prompted scepticism among other families who question the Department of Corrections’ explanations, particularly regarding claims of overdoses. Some even speculate about the possibility of foul play and potential murders, as reported by ABC 33/40 News. The Department of Corrections, however, declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.

These chilling accounts of missing organs echo similar shocking incidents in different parts of the country, such as the alleged misconduct of a hospital security guard caught having sex with a deceased woman’s body in an Arizona morgue freezer a few months ago. In June, a morgue manager from Harvard Medical School faced charges for stealing human remains from mortuaries and selling them for profit, further highlighting the disturbing lack of respect for the deceased in certain instances.