A central Florida woman is claiming she “didn’t know it was illegal” after being arrested for selling human bones online from her gothic shop Wicked Wonderland in Orange City.
Arrested Thursday and arraigned Friday was Kymberlee Anne Schopper of nearby Deltona. She was charged with “trading in human tissue,” a Florida second-degree felony. Conviction can carry both a fine and prison term, which would be determined at sentencing.
Advertised by the Wicked Wonderland store were two human skulls for $90, a human clavicle and scapula for $90, a human rib $35, human vertebrae for $35 and a partial human skull for $600 – featured on the shop’s website and the Facebook page, authorities say.
A Florida court ordered Schopper was released Friday on $7,600 bond. The case is already getting international attention after forensic analysis of the bones revealed they could be as much as $500 years old and had “archeological value,” authorities said. Fox 35 in Orlando reported that the bones had been sent by police to the county’s medical examiner for examination
Wicked Wonderland’s website remains up and running and the store, located 30 miles north of Orlando, appears open for business. It advertises items described as “antique and vintage with a Victorian gothic flair” and “oddities and unusual art.” Merchandise appears to include religious and occult items such as crucifixes and pentagrams. The store also offers events, workshops, and a “conjure and reading service.”
Authorities began investigating after receiving a tip in December 2023. Later, when they went to the shop to investigate, a worker at the store said they had been selling the bones for years. It is unclear why so much time passed before the store owner was charged.
However, during questioning, Schopper reportedly told officers that she believed selling bones was legal in Florida if they were “educational models.” She described the items as “genuine human remains” and “delicate in nature,” per the arrest affidavit.
She also claimed the bones had been acquired from private collectors over the years, though she couldn’t provide documentation for the transactions when asked.
The State of Florida also has legislation dictating how human remains are handled by archeologists, medical examiners, and “human skeleton analysts.” The law states that “it is the intent of the Legislature that all human burials and human skeletal remains be accorded equal treatment and respect based upon common human dignity without reference to ethnic origin, cultural background, or religious affiliation. This section applies to all human burials, human skeletal remains and associated burial artifacts.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
