Grisly Details Allowed in Black Market Body Parts Trial in Detroit

DETROIT, MI — Grisly evidence that will be presented at the upcoming federal trial of Grosse Pointe Park body parts broker Arthur Rathburn — who is accused of selling body parts that tested positive for HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases to medical researchers — seem straight out of a Halloween horror movie. But it is a real, unfiltered drama unfolding in federal court in Detroit.

Rathburn allegedly disposed of human biological waste by washing it down the drain or putting it in the garbage can like yesterday’s leftover chicken. He’s accused of cremating only the torsos of donors’ bodies after cutting off their limbs with a chainsaw, and of storing their un-embalmed heads in mouthwash before shipping them in blood-filled ice coolers on commercial flights. He allegedly lied to family members about how their loved ones’ corpses were treated, and told them their entire bodies had been cremated while he kept limbs on ice at a rundown warehouse.

That’s all according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent in U.S. District Court, where Rathbun will appear Friday for a status conference. Rathburn is charged with nine counts of wire fraud, three charges of making false statements, and one charge of transporting hazardous material. Rathburn, who is being held in federal detention, faces 20 years in prison on each count.

The evidence against Rathburn is “contrary to all of his statements that he abides by all local, state and federal regulations,” an FBI agent wrote in the federal complaint. “When Rathburn sends the body for cremation, not all of the body is sent. Rathburn keeps some of the parts for later use — these are not returned to the family.”

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• Elizabeth Rathburn’s attorney says Arthur Rathburn “ruined” his soon-to-be ex-wife's life with lucrative body parts business.

The accused black market cadaver dealer and his wife, Elizabeth Rathburn, were indicted in January and accused by federal authorities of buying human body parts from 2007 to 2013 from suppliers in Illinois and Arizona, and then renting them to medical and dental researchers. Elizabeth Rathburn, who is estranged from her husband, cut a deal with federal prosecutors in March and agreed to cooperate with authorities in the case against Rathburn.

Rathburn’s lawyer wanted to shield the jury in his yet-to-be-scheduled trial by having the grisly evidence suppressed, The Detroit News reported.

“This network, as described by the affidavit, was more likely than not engaged in crimes. Bodies were bought, sold, and disposed of contrary to the will of donors. Infected remains were passed off as noninfectious. Lies were told to state and federal regulators,” prosecutors argued in a motion. “The Grinnell Warehouse was a hub of this activity, and the affidavit in support of the warrant provided probable cause for its search.”

This week, U.S. District Judge Paul Borman agreed, ruling that the International Biological Inc. warehouse where Rathburn kept about 1,000 body parts on ice “appears to be a hub of the illegal activity” and evidence seized there is “relevant to the ongoing criminal investigation,” the Detroit Free Press reported.

When FBI agents raided the International Biological Inc. warehouse near Detroit's airport in 2013, they seized more than 1,000 body parts that had been kept on ice. The FBI had been tracking him for years after questions were raised about some unusual packages arriving for him at Detroit Metro Airport.

During the course of the investigation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intercepted a shipment of human heads and necks from Tel Aviv to Detroit. Death certificates showed that one of the heads came from an individual whose cause of death was listed as “Sepsis, unknown bacteria,” even though representatives of Rathburn’s company had signed a statement indicating the body parts were free of infection, according to court records.

In another instance, a shipment of 18 human heads from Italy intercepted at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport included the head of one individual who had explicitly restricted use of his body for research to non-profit entities in the United States.

The motive, according to the FBI and federal prosecutors who spent years building the case against Rathburn, was greed. Court records show human cadavers fetched anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000; brains were sold for $600; and elbows and hands went for $850.

Before he became a for-profit body parts dealer, Rathburn was the coordinator of the University of Michigan’s anatomical donation program, a position he held from 1984 until he was fired in 1990 for selling bodies through his private business, which he started in 1989.

The FBI said in an affidavit that the body parts trade is not illegal, but “crimes have been committed.”

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