A Wayne County couple is facing more than a dozen charges after running a business renting out disease-ridden, dismembered body parts to clients in the medical and dental fields, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday.
Arthur and Elizabeth Rathburn ran International Biological Inc., a company that purchased body parts before renting them out to customers in medical fields.
The couple kept body parts such as heads, torsos, and arms from more than 1,000 people in a shabby warehouse where they were kept on ice instead of being embalmed, according to sources.
The indictment states the couple knew some of the body parts supplied to them came from people who had died from infectious diseases. IBI also bought some of these diseased parts at reduced prices, and then sold them to customers claiming they were free of certain diseases, according to documents.
"The scheme included (1) directly profiting from infectious remains supplied to unwitting customers in violation of contractual agreements and (2) not disclosing to customers that IBI failed to take industry standard precautions to prevent potential cross-contamination between infections and non-infectious remains," the indictment read.
According to the indictment, Arthur “used a chainsaw, band saw, and reciprocating saw to dismember bodies without taking sanitary precautions," and "stored human heads by stacking them directly on top of each other without any protective barrier."
The couple is accused of selling the body parts from January 2007 to December 2013.
Charges against them include wire fraud, aiding and abetting, and transportation of hazardous material.
Elizabeth was released on bond. Arthur remains in custody.
Last March, federal officials unsealed documents revealing they were targeting similar practices in Chicago Phoenix.
