It seems like a minor real-life heist worthy of a bad movie adaptation involving human brain tissue, online selling, museum break-ins and a 21-year-old with very bad writing skills.
As early as September 2013, the Indiana Medical History Museum at 3045 W. West Vermont Street in Indianapolis has been experiencing break-ins, and possibly over a thousand glass jars containing human brain tissues were stolen stolen, which were collectively valued at approximately $4,800.
The museum, which was formerly the Central State Hospital, catered to the mentally ill between 1848 and 1994. The brain tissues stolen were collected from about 2,000 patients whose remains were autopsied between the 1890s and the 1940s. Indianapolis detectives have been investigating the case for months.
It was only after a man in San Diego, Calif. bought six of these jars on eBay—paying $600 plus $70 shipping for them that he became suspicious about the labels on some of the jars, and called the authorities. This culminated in a sting operation at a local Dairy Queen parking lot that nabbed 21-year-old David Charles, an Indianapolis resident.
Charles was accused of breaking into the museum, stealing the jars and posting them up for sale on eBay. The authorities suspect that he may have used social media to sell the jars since they found a Facebook profile with the name David Charles which had a status update stating, "Yo I got a bunch of human brains in jars for sale hmu for detauls u know u want one for Halloween." The status update was posted on Oct 14.
He now faces charges of burglary, theft, possession of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia. According to A.J. Deer, spokesman for the Marion Country prosecutor's office, it is possible that Charles may be charged with other crimes.
The museum's executive director, May Ellen Hennessey Nottage, deplored the thefts. She was grateful that most of the stolen material were returned. "A museum's mission is to hold these materials as cultural and scientific objects in the public interest. To have that disturbed—to have that broken—is extraordinarily disturbing to those of us in the museum field," Nottage said.
She spoke to the man who paid $670 on eBay for six jars of brain tissue and he told her that he just liked to "collect odd things." One wonders if he got his money back.
