A 23-year-old Indiana man has pleaded guilty to breaking
into a medical museum and stealing preserved human brains and other tissue that
he then sold online, authorities said.
into a medical museum and stealing preserved human brains and other tissue that
he then sold online, authorities said.
David Charles, of Indianapolis, pleaded guilty to six
charges including receiving stolen property, and burglary in a Marion County
court where Magistrate Amy Barbar sentenced him to one year of home detention
and two years of probation.
charges including receiving stolen property, and burglary in a Marion County
court where Magistrate Amy Barbar sentenced him to one year of home detention
and two years of probation.
Charles on multiple occasions broke into the Indiana Medical
History Museum to steal jars of brains and other human tissue, according to
Marion County prosecutor’s office.
History Museum to steal jars of brains and other human tissue, according to
Marion County prosecutor’s office.
The museum is a former hospital for the insane founded in
1848 and later converted into a museum with an autopsy room and anatomical
museum that displays preserved specimens, mostly brains, organized by
pathology.
1848 and later converted into a museum with an autopsy room and anatomical
museum that displays preserved specimens, mostly brains, organized by
pathology.
Charles was arrested after a San Diego man who bought six
jars of brain material for $600 on eBay alerted police. Many of the items
Charles sold were recovered when the San Diego man matched the items he bought
to those stolen from the museum based on research he did online, according to
court documents.
jars of brain material for $600 on eBay alerted police. Many of the items
Charles sold were recovered when the San Diego man matched the items he bought
to those stolen from the museum based on research he did online, according to
court documents.
Investigators were able to identify Charles partly because
he left behind in the museum a piece of paper with his bloody fingerprint on it.
he left behind in the museum a piece of paper with his bloody fingerprint on it.
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