MOUNT WASHINGTON, Ky. — The FBI executed a search warrant for a man who lives in Mount Washington earlier this week regarding stolen human remains that were sold online, according to multiple reports.
Investigators searched James William Nott’s house on Tuesday in connection to body parts stolen from the Harvard Medical School morgue that were sold and shipped online, according to WHAS. Human remains were also stolen from a mortuary in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
An FBI agent asked Nott if anyone was home and he replied, “Only my dead friends,” according to WHAS.
Forty human skulls were found inside the house, along with spinal cords, femurs and hip bones, according to the Courier-Journal. One of the skulls was found on a mattress that Nott slept in and others were put up around the apartment like decorations, the newspaper reported.
According to a criminal complaint and an affidavit for the search, Nott said that he got body parts from overseas and sold them in the United States, according to the Courier-Journal.
The FBI began investigating Nott after learning that he had communicated with Jeremy Pauley, a man who was involved in a nationwide scheme to buy and sell stolen human remains, WHAS reported.
Pauley gave the FBI information on a network of people involved that included a morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, Cedric Lodge, the news outlet reported. Lodge was charged last month.
A Harvard Medical bag was also found in Nott’s house, WHAS reported. An AK-47, a .38 caliber revolver, several fully loaded and unloaded rifle magazines, extra ammunition, inert grenades and two plates of body armor were also found in the house.
Pauley had been talking to someone who went by the name “William Burke” on Facebook about buying skulls and spines, according to WHAS. Both Pauley and “Burke” exchanged PayPal information, with authorities linking the latter account to Nott.
Investigators also found that as recently as last month, Nott had been posting about selling human remains on Facebook, according to the affidavit obtained by WHAS.
Nott pleaded guilty to possession of a destructive device and a firearm in 2011. When he was arrested on Tuesday, he was charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, according to the Courier-Journal.
Information about other charges has not been released. Nott’s arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 4, the Courier-Journal reported.
