Arizona Police have arrested a 59-year-old Seattle man for throwing away the skulls and limbs of at least five people in a dense forest near Prescott, Arizona.
Walter Mitchell, who recently closed a company called Future GenX that bought and sold cadavers for medical research and once described himself as a “ veteran body broker ” in an article about the body parts trade, was taken into custody in Scottsdale. The body parts are believed to belong to people who donated their cadavers to scientific research.
Mitchell was charged on Wednesday with 28 counts of improperly moving human remains, which is a Class 5 felony.
Authorities first heard about the eerie remains on Saturday when a hunter reported finding two intact heads with gauze “puppy pads” commonly used in medical research. Authorities later found three more heads and a pile of different branches in another part of the forest.
Sheriff Scott Mascher told local media that they initially opened an investigation into serial killers’ murders, but after finding that the “puppy pads” were linked to anatomical research, they changed the helm. “This situation is unimaginable,” Mascher wrote in a Facebook post. “I’m so sorry for the families whose loved ones were donated to research and treated in such a gruesome manner.”
Authorities say Mitchell drove 1,425 miles from Seattle with the heads and limbs in his car before disposing of them in a forest near Prescott sometime earlier this year. He was living in Scottsdale at the time of his arrest.
“The disrespect shown to the deceased in this case by those charged with caring for their remains is appalling and excruciating,” Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes said in a statement.