News release

VanVelzen Pleads Guilty to Indignity to Remains

Public Prosecution Service

PUBLIC PROSECUTION SERVICE--VanVelzen Pleads Guilty to Indignity to Remains


Dr. Dick VanVelzen voluntarily appeared in provincial court today and pleaded guilty to a charge of committing an indignity to human remains under section 182 (b) of the Canadian Criminal Code.

He was given a conditional discharge. He will be on probation for the next 12 months and, as a condition of the discharge, will make a $2,000 donation to Dalhousie Medical Research.

"The Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service is satisfied with the outcome of this case," said Peter Craig, Crown attorney. "This sentence is appropriate for the offence, given the facts of the case and relevant case law. And, it sends a message of deterrence with relation to this offence."

The charge was laid after police discovered human remains in a Dartmouth storage facility last September. The doctor is a pediatric pathologist and currently resides in Europe. He was on staff at a Halifax hospital for a few years but left Canada two years ago.

The human remains discovered consist of organ systems and various organ/tissue samples retrieved during an autopsy of an eight- year-old girl who died several years ago in another country.
The parents sent the remains to Dr. VanVelzen for an opinion in a lawsuit they initiated. They never expected to have the remains returned to them.

The family has been informed of the criminal charge against Dr. VanVelzen. The identity of the family is being withheld to protect their privacy.

"The PPS conducted an exhaustive search of applicable case law and looked to provincial regulations for guidance on the appropriate storage of human remains set aside for research purposes," said Mr. Craig. "We found there to be an absence of regulations and of legislated professional standards in this area and the Service will be bringing that to the attention of the Department of Health and those that set professional standards."