The family of the late veteran broadcaster Alistair Cooke have spoken of their horror at reports that their father's bones were stolen by a criminal gang trading in body parts.
Mr Cooke, who presented BBC Radio 4's Letter From America for more than half a century, died in New York in March last year from lung cancer that spread to his bones.
The New York Daily News claims some of the 95-year-old's diseased bones were taken before his cremation, without the family's permission, and are thought to have been sold for transplants. His stepdaughter Holly Rumbold said the practice was "corrupt and evil".
"I'm furious, I'm enraged, I'm outraged. My stepfather is not the only one that's been used for this macabre purpose and people are making billions of dollars out of it."
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's The World At One, she explained what had happened after her stepfather's death:
"He died in the night and the undertakers collected him. His ashes, were returned the next day. They were scattered in Central Park - who knows maybe some of the ashes were his - how do you know? It defies the imagination.
"I am upset that it has happened, and it could happen to other people. I'm most shocked by the violation of the medical ethics that my stepfather's ancient and cancerous bones should have been passed off as healthy tissue to innocent patients in their quest for better health.
"For example, someone with a damaged spine could have it repaired by implanting cancerous bone and paying thousands of pounds for the procedure and I think it's the wickedest idea I have ever heard of. It's a violation of his memory to have his diseased bones passed off as healthy tissue."
Mr Cooke's daughter Susan Kittredge told the New York Daily News she was "shocked and saddened that following his death, parts of his body were illegally sold for transplant".
The newspaper also reports that an investigation is being carried out by the Brooklyn district attorney's office into Michael Mastromarino, who ran Biomedical Tissue Services Ltd, a tissue recovery business
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