Police are investigating jars of preserved human remains found under a home in Gainesville.
The remains were discovered during an inspection of the house's foundation. The home was previously owned by Dr. Ronald A. Baughman, a former University of Florida researcher and current professor emeritus who published studies in the 1970s and '80s.
Some of the jars date back as far as the 1960s and contain human tongues.
According to WCJB, Baughman said the tongues were part of a research project from many years ago. He told the station he brought them with him when he came to Florida for work with the intention of using them in additional research.
He said he stored the tongues in the crawl space of the house because it was a cool area. According to WCJB, Baughman's ex-wife owns the home. They both told the station they forgot the tongues were there.
“I don’t know what the policies and laws would have been like 50 years ago or whenever it was, but I can tell you that today that’s not something that would be permitted," Steve Orlando, a spokesperson for UF, told WCJB. "There are very strict federal and state laws as well as university policies that prohibit that. It would be neither appropriate or legal for a faculty member or researcher to bring something like that home.”
Authorities say it doesn't appear to be any criminal activity associated with the tongues. The investigation is still ongoing.
Courtesy of WCJB and CNN Newsource.
