Buckets of body parts, a cooler filled with male genitalia and a woman’s head sewn onto a male torso “like Frankenstein” were found by FBI agents during a raid on an Arizona body donation center, a new lawsuit reveals.
The stomach-churning scene was discovered by FBI agents at the now-shuttered Biological Resource Center in 2014 as part of a multi-state investigation into the illegal trafficking and sale of human body parts, as reported by the Arizona Republic.
Details of the grim find were revealed in a lawsuit filed against the center this week by 33 plaintiffs whose loved ones’ bodies were donated to the facility under the guise they would be used for scientific purposes.
In his declaration in the civil suit, former FBI special agent Mark Cwynar described the “various unsettling scenes” that awaited cops, including “a bucket of heads, arms and legs” and “a cooler filled with male genitalia.”
Agents also found “infected heads,” a small woman’s head sewn onto a large male torso and hanging on a wall “like Frankenstein,” and body parts stacked on top of one another with no identification tags.
Biological Resource Center specialized in the free pickup of deceased loved ones for families in exchange for their bodies, to be used for scientific research.
Instead, the company sold body parts to various middlemen for profit.
A 2013 price list included in the civil court filing indicates a whole boy with no shoulders or head could be purchased for $2,900 while a whole spine retailed for $950.
In 2015, Gore tearfully pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal business after accusations he used body parts in ways that donors had not permitted.
He was sentenced to one year of deferred jail time, four years probation and was ordered to pay $121,000 in restitution.
Plaintiffs say their deceased loved ones were not treated with respect and claim they were misled by the company into believing their bodies would be used for disease research and organ donation.
In 2017, Arizona passed a law that said body donation companies are not allowed to operate without a license — but it has not yet been implemented.
The case is set for trial in Maricopa County Superior Court on Oct. 21.