WCJBJars of preserved human tongues have been found underneath the floorboards of a Florida home that once belonged to a university professor.
Investigators found six to eight jars, each one labelled with a name and a date. At least one of those jars dates back to the 1960s, police officials said, and they also believe one jar may contain a fetus.
The jars were discovered during an inspection of the home’s foundation in Gainesville’s Brywood neighbourhood, and are now being analysed by a medical examiner.
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The home was previously owned by Dr. Ronald A. Baughman, a former University of Florida researcher who published studies in the 1970s and 1980s.
The former professor, who was also a world-renowned pathologist and was hired as an assistant professor of oral medicine in 1971, has since said the tongues found were nothing more than a research project he conducted many years ago.
He said he obtained the specimens during his research in the 1960s when he was just starting his career, and brought the specimens with him when he came to work at the University of Florida with the intention of using it in additional research.
WCJBBaughman says he stored the tongues in the crawl space of his former house to preserve them because it was a cool area. Both the former professor and his ex-wife Mary, who owns the house, say they had completely forgotten they were even under the home.
Police say this type of thing isn’t uncommon in Gainesville, as the University of Florida and three local hospitals are located nearby. Officials have also said they’re not treating the discovery of the jars as suspicious, but the investigation is still ongoing.
Jorge Campos, a spokesperson for Gainesville Police Department, told WCJB:
We’ve got no indication that they were trying to hide anything from us or be deceptive about anything. They’ve been forthcoming from the get go.
That’s why in our preliminary investigation we don’t think we have anything criminal, we just need to verify everything.
WCJBBecause the jars date back to the 1960s, when laws and research regulations may have been different, that could account for why Baughman might have taken the jars home.
Steve Orlando, a spokesperson for the University of Florida, told WCJB:
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.
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.
WCJBPolice are continuing to investigate the jars, which are currently being analysed by a medical examiner.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).