Retrieved from vomit

Australian woman wanted to sell human toes

In Australia, a woman wanted to sell toes on the black market (symbolic image).

(Bild: Carlos Yudica - stock.adobe.com)

A woman in Australia intended to sell human toes on the black market. She had previously retrieved them from the vomit of dogs. The accused worked in an animal shelter.

The incident took place in February 2024, when two dogs were handed in to the animal shelter in the Australian state of Victoria after their owner died. The owner had died of natural causes before his four-legged friends had eaten some of his body parts.

The two dogs regurgitated these human remains at the shelter. The 48-year-old later found them in the garbage and decided to take the two human toes home. She put them in a jar of formaldehyde and made a plan with her daughter to sell the body parts online. According to the indictment, she thought she could get up to 400 Australian dollars (the equivalent of 233 euros) for them.

Police received an anonymous tip-off
However, after an anonymous tip-off, the police suddenly turned up at the door. The Australian woman admitted to owning the toes and intending to offer them for sale. The officers discovered not only the jar with the toes, but also other curiosities such as an alligator claw, a bird's skull and a guinea pig's foot. The Australian woman is accused of having previously offered such body parts for sale or exchange in a Facebook group.

She was now facing up to two years in prison. She was ultimately sentenced to an 18-month suspended sentence.