
An Australian woman named Joanna Kathlyn Kinman, a 48-year-old mother of five from Melbourne, admitted to attempting to sell human toes online.
She was working as a ranger at an animal shelter in Victoria when, in February 2024, two dogs surrendered to the shelter vomited up human remains, including two toes, from their deceased owner who had died of natural causes.
Kinman retrieved the toes from a bin, took them home, and preserved them in a jar of formaldehyde, believing she could sell them online for around 400 Australian dollars ($253 USD). She was an active member of a Facebook group called “Bone Buddies Australia,” where similar specimens are traded.
Kinman pleaded guilty to offensive conduct involving human remains at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on March 17th, 2025. Although she faced a maximum penalty of two years in prison, Magistrate Andrew Sim sentenced her to an 18-month non-custodial sentence with 150 hours of community service, calling her actions “astounding” and “entirely odd.”
She narrowly avoided jail, lost her job and faced public backlash. During a police search, authorities also found other unusual items in her possession, including an alligator claw, a bird skull, a guinea pig trotter and her children’s teeth.