INDIANAPOLIS – Authorities say a man stole brain samples of long-dead mental patients from the Indiana Medical History Museum that were later sold online.
Marion County court documents say 21-year-old David Charles of Indianapolis broke into the museum several times over the past year and stole jars of preserved human tissues.
The Indianapolis Star reports police arrested Charles on Dec. 16 after investigators were tipped off by a San Diego man who became suspicious about six jars of brain tissue he bought off eBay for $600.
The director of the museum on the grounds of a former state psychiatric hospital says the organ tissues are from patient autopsies spanning about the 1890s through the 1940s.
Charles faces theft and other charges. It wasn't immediately clear whether he has an attorney.
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