The FBI found dozens of human bones, some of which were being used as decorations, in the home of a Kentucky man, according to a criminal complaint on Tuesday 11th July 2023.
The complaint says that James William Nott, 49, of Mount Washington, Kentucky, was part of a ring of people who were purchasing and selling stolen human remains.
Some of the remains were tied to the Harvard Medical School scandal, in which body parts were stolen from the school’s Anatomical Gift Program.
Agents say they found as many as 40 skulls in Nott’s home, along with hip bones, spinal cords, and other bones. Some of the bones were being used as decorations around furniture, the complaint says.
Nott was arrested immediately after the raid on Tuesday 11th July 2023 and was initially charged with having a firearm as a prohibited person. Agents found multiple loaded firearms in his home, including at least one AK-47, as well as inert grenades and two plates for body armour.
When an FBI agent asked Nott if anyone else was inside the apartment, Nott replied, “Only my dead friends.”
The investigation into Nott began after the Pennsboro Township Police Department received a tip about possible human remains inside the home of a man named Jeremy Pauley in Pennsylvania. Agents searched Pauley’s home and found human remains including organs and skin.
Pauley told agents that he had been buying human remains from Nott. He also told them about a network of people who were involved in the theft and sale of human remains.
Another individual suspected to be in the network is Cedric Lodge, who was the manager at the morgue for the Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Program.
