For more than two years, Arelis Coromoto Villegas fought to bring her murdered daughter, Aurimar Iturriago Villegas, back to Venezuela for a proper burial.
But her grief reached new depths when, after a heartbreaking investigation, she learned her daughter’s remains had been sold to a private company and used for scientific research.
Aurimar, just 21, was tragically killed in October 2022 in a violent road rage incident in Dallas, Texas, when a man fired a gun into the car she was in, striking her in the head.
Having recently arrived in the U.S. as a migrant from Venezuela, she was living in Texas with friends when her life was cut short.
Arelis, desperate to bring her daughter home, raised thousands of dollars to cover the costs of repatriating Aurimar’s body.
She spent years communicating with Dallas County officials, but after no response, she learned the shocking truth.
Through an NBC News investigation, it was revealed that Aurimar, among hundreds of others, had become one of the unclaimed bodies sent to the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
There, her remains were used in medical research and training.
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Aurimar’s torso was sold to a biotechnology company, while her legs were used by students at the university for medical exercises.
The rest of her remains were reportedly cremated and returned to the county medical examiner. Arelis was devastated when she saw her daughter’s name listed in the report.
“It’s a very painful thing,” she said, “She’s not a little animal to be butchered.” Arelis now feels helpless, as communication with authorities remains sparse.
Her once hopeful fight to recover her daughter’s body is now clouded with anger, grief, and confusion.
“I think I’m going to throw in the towel and leave things in God’s hands,” Arelis shared, her heart broken by the tragic turn of events.