Man buys human hands, organs stolen from mortuary to resell on Facebook, PA cops say

A man accused of buying human body parts — including a human heart and four hands — was recently arrested after a tipster reported “suspicious activity,” according to authorities in Pennsylvania.

The East Pennsboro Township Police Department says it received the call about possible human remains being sold on Facebook on June 14, according to an Aug. 18 news release.

Initially, the 40-year-old Enola man told police he collected “oddities” — including three skeletons and about 20 human skulls, according to WHTM. Police confirmed the remains were “very old and came from a legitimate purchase.”

But on July 8, police received another call from someone who found 5-gallon buckets of human organs in a home basement.

Authorities executing a search warrant at the man’s home found three buckets of human remains, which were taken as evidence.

“Among the remains identified were human brains, heart, livers, skin and lungs,” the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Investigators say the Enola man was buying human remains via Facebook Messenger. In examining his messages, they learned he was in the middle of buying more remains from a woman in Arkansas.

Facebook messages confirmed he had spent $4,000 on remains, including a human head, four hands and a pelvis, according to WPMT. The woman is accused of stealing those remains — which belonged to the University of Arkansas — from a mortuary.

“Those items were to be shipped via United States Postal Service to Pennsylvania from Arkansas,” authorities said. “Those packages were intercepted in Scranton through a joint operations conducted by FBI agents, USPS Agents and the Pennsylvania State Police. Those packages contained human remains.”

Police say the Pennsylvania man was arrested Aug. 18 and charged with abuse of corpse, receiving stolen property and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.

“This is one of the most bizarre investigations I have encountered in my thirty-three years as a prosecutor,” Cumberland County District Attorney Seán McCormack said in a statement. “Just when I think I have seen it all, a case like this comes around.”

The suspect was released on a $50,000 bail, police said, and has been scheduled for a preliminary hearing.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences released the following statement to KFSM regarding the woman accused of stealing and selling the human remains:

“We have a contract with Arkansas Central Mortuary Services to take the bodies for cremation after they are no longer being used by our students. An employee of the mortuary service is under investigation by federal authorities for taking some human remains from the mortuary that were donated to UAMS. We are saddened and appalled that this happened.

Enola is about 115 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

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