David Charles, a now 23-year-old man from Indianapolis, is guilty for stealing preserved human brains and selling them through eBay.
Charles has pleaded guilty to six charges, including breaking into a medical museum, stealing preserved human brains, and selling them online. A total of 80 jars of human tissues were recovered.
According to the Marion county prosecutor's office, Charles broke into the Indiana Medical History Museum and stole jars of brains and other human tissue. The museum is said to be a former hospital for the insane. It was then converted in to a museum displaying preserved specimens.
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced on Wednesday that Charles has pleaded to burglary. He has received a sentence of four years with three years suspended. The suspension will be served in the Marion County Community Corrections. The terms of the sentence are as follows: one year of home detention, two years of probation, and a high school diploma or GED certificate.
He was arrested in December 2013 after man from San Diego bough on eBay six jars of brain material alerted the authorities. The buyer said he was able to buy it for a total of $600. The identity was confirmed as investigators were also able to identify Charles through a piece of paper he left at the museum. It had bloody fingerprints.
Charles was then arrested after authorities arranged a meeting between the seller and the buyer, the Indianapolis Star reports. Fox News also reports that 60 more jars of human tissue were stolen a day before the arranged meeting.
Charles was also found guilty of stealing other items from the museum, including an EKG machine, around 10 scopes, a baby scale, and other miscellaneous historical items.
The museum's director revealed that the stolen tissues were from autopsies conducted between the 1890s and 1940s.
