A man who owned a recently closed company that managed human corpses was arrested in Arizona after dozens of human body parts, including severed limbs and heads, were found scattered in a remote area in what investigators are calling a “bizarre and horrible case. “
Walter Mitchell, 59, was arrested Tuesday in Scottsdale on 28 counts of abandoning or hiding a corpse, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
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Mitchell owned a Seattle-based company called Future GenX, which involved managing cadavers for research, according to the sheriff’s office. The deal was recently closed.
Walter Harold Mitchell faces charges of dumping body parts that are believed to have been used for medical research in remote areas outside Prescott, Arizona. (Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
The investigation began on December 26, when the sheriff’s office was alerted to the discovery of two human members outside the city of Prescott. Investigators found a total of 19 human members, including loose arms and legs, according to the sheriff’s office.
The next day, detectives found five more human members at a second location outside Prescott, investigators said. Other searches also found five severed human heads.
Detectives quickly dismissed the possibility of a serial killer and determined that the remains were probably linked to a medical institution and were intended for use in the educational and research fields, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities investigate the discovery of dozens of human body parts northwest of Prescott on Sunday. (Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
At both sites, the researchers said they found “dog pads” and gauze-like material used in hospitals for incontinent patients.
The investigators said the evidence was used to trace the remains to Mitchell’s Seattle business. Working with local police in Seattle, the sheriff’s office found that Mitchell had left the city earlier this year with the remains of five individuals.
“This situation is unimaginable and I am sorry for the families whose loved ones were donated for research and treated so horribly,” Sheriff Scott Mascher said in a statement.
Echoing Mascher’s sentiments, sheriff-elect David Rhodes said, “The disrespect shown to the deceased in this case by those accused of looking after his remains is abominable and intolerable.”
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Detectives tracked Mitchell’s trips from Seattle to the communities of Prescott and Chino Valley before he finally arrived in Scottsdale, where he was arrested, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators said Mitchell’s motive remains unknown.