A former animal shelter worker who attempted to sell human toes coughed up by the dog of a dead man had previously sold the bodies of stillborn kittens and puppies online.
Lilydale mum-of-five Joanna Kathlyn Kinman, 48, from Melbourne’s north-east, pleaded guilty in the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on Monday to one count of offensive conduct involving human remains.
The court heard she admitted planning to sell two human toes stored in a jar of formaldehyde for $400 on a twisted online black market.
The jar was later found by police in her home in a wall unit containing a ‘pig trotter, alligator claw, bird skull and baby teeth belonging to her children’.
The former ranger was arrested on February 24 last year where she admitted to being member of the Facebook page ‘Bone Buddies ‘ – an oddities site catered to ‘skull and bone enthusiasts’.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Melissa Sambrooks told the court the site was commonly used by people to buy, swap and sell ‘specimens’ and share their discoveries.
‘The accused is an avid contributor to the site and has sold multiple items, including a wet specimen of a stillborn kitten, a wet specimen of a stillborn puppy and a book titled “History Of Punishment And Torture”,’ the prosecutor said.
The court heard Kinman also engaged with the group about ‘the processes of dead roadkill animals’ and a television show that focused on ‘buying and selling human remains’.
Kinman had come across the human toes in an animal shelter, which cannot be named for legal reasons, after dead man’s dogs were sent there to find them a new home.
The court heard the dogs later vomited up the remains, which were tossed in the bin by disturbed staff – one whom was so distraught she went home sick.
Upon learning of the distressing incident, Kinman offered to cover for the worker, later diving into the bin and retrieving the man’s bones.
The court heard Kinman discussed with her daughter selling the bones, suggesting her ‘research’ indicated they could fetch her up to $400 from online buyers.
Kinman told police she took the toes because she knew someone who collected ‘weird things’.
‘And it was a toe and I thought “cool, it’s a toe”,’ Kinman told police.
Her lawyer, Rainer Martini, described his client’s actions as ‘reprehensible’. ‘spontaneous’ and ‘insensitive’.
But argued she had already suffered enough by the media reporting of her atrocious behaviour.
‘Her name has already been spat out to the world at large – even overseas apparently there is that sort of interest,’ he said.
‘I can understand that interest. My client is already being punished as a result of that.’
Mr Martini argued his client ought escape a jail sentence with a community corrections order, with the possibility of being let go without conviction.
However Magistrate Andrew Sim suggested she would be lucky to leave the courtroom without wearing handcuffs.
A reference supplied by Mr Martini on his client’s behalf was panned by the magistrate amid claims it attempted to ‘condone’ her actions.
‘This is a strange thing to do, but if you’re collecting stuff like this or having stuff like this in your home and that’s something you want then I don’t see it as a major issue,’ the referee told the court via the statement.
Magistrate Sim condemned Kinman’s behaviour, expressing disbelief she could not have understood what she did was wrong given her position of trust.
‘It’s just astounding that she would not have understood … that taking two toes that have been vomited up by one or two dogs from a deceased person and then effectively trying to sell those on the internet would not be the wrong thing to do,’ he said.
‘There’s no real explanation and I’m struggling to understand what has caused this.’
The court heard Kinman had led an otherwise law-abiding life, completing her high school studies in her 20s and later studying psychology.
She then went onto complete her Certificate 2 in Animal Health Care and taking up the job that would ultimately lead to her facing court and international notoriety.
An expert doctor’s report indicated Kinman had an ordinary childhood after being adopted, but had suffered from a ‘destructive relationship’ in her teens.
But the doctor believed she was unlikely to reoffend in such a way.
The hearing was stood down to allow Kinman to be accessed for a community order.