Mum-of-five Joanna Kathlyn Kinman, 48, from Melbourne admitted to offensive conduct involving human remains as the magistrate branded her actions as ‘entirely odd’
A woman narrowly avoided being sent to jail after she pulled out human toes from dog vomit with the intention of selling them online.
In a disturbing case, Joanna Kathlyn Kinman, 48, had been working at an animal shelter in Melbourne, Australia in February 2024. At this point two dogs were surrendered following their owner’s death of natural causes, whose name was suppressed by the court.
The pets had gone on to eat parts of his body before eventually bringing the remains back up, including his toes. It was then that the mum-of-five, who wasn’t there at the time of the man’s death, started to search through wheelie bins for the toes.
She found them and took the body parts home. Kinman informed her daughter that she was going to sell them online and believed that she could get up to $400 (£196) for them. However, an anonymous source tipped off the police – who then turned up at her home in suburban Lilydale and soon arrested her.
Leading Senior Constable Sambrooks told Ringwood magistrates court the details of what Kinman did once she found the toes. “She located two human toes and took them home and placed them in a jar containing formaldehyde,” they explained.
Kinman pleaded guilty to offensive conduct involving human remains. She was not required to speak during her appearance and was supported by her teenage son.
She had previously studied psychology and animal science and was a regular contributor to a Facebook group called ‘Bone Buddies Australia’. Kinman had already sold “wet specimens” of a stillborn kitten and puppy through the group.
However, she never revealed where those remains had been sourced from. Kinman told police during her interview that she was curious about the toes and took them because, “I know someone who collects weird things… I thought ‘cool’ it’s a toe.”
Many of the deceased’s relative were unware of the crime. His his son refrained from telling them all about the investigation, saying that his family had suffered enough.
Magistrate Andrew Sim sentenced Kinman to an 18-month community corrections order, which included 150 hours of community work. He said she had escaped a prison sentence, “by the barest of possible margins”.
He also observed that it was “hardly surprising” Kinman lost her job over the “entirely odd behaviour”. Mr Sim added: “I find it remarkable that someone of the accused’s experience and education would not know it was an offence.
“It’s astounding that she didn’t understand taking two toes that had been vomited up by one or two dogs from a deceased person.” Kinman’s lawyer, Rainer Martini, told Mr Sim that his client had also been impacted by her “spontaneous’ crime”, which included her job loss along with having her name spread online.
He said: “She has regretted fulsomely… not just for herself but for the impact on the family of the deceased.” The magistrate accepted that Kinman had expressed remorse but added that it wasn’t a “momentary lapse of judgment”.
She faced up to two years in prison but the prosecutor and Kinman’s lawyer agreed she should be assessed for a corrections order. Kinman made no comment to the media as she left the court.