Grosse Pointe Park Man Convicted In Body Parts Dealing Scheme

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A jury has convicted a Detroit-area man who was charged with knowingly selling infected body parts for research.

Arthur Rathburn of Grosse Pointe Park was accused of covering up the fact that the parts, which were used for medical training at national conferences, had tested positive for diseases including hepatitis B and HIV

According to U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, Rathburn and his wife worked as cadaver dealers, obtaining donated bodies through deceit and then distributing them while ignoring industry standard precautions. Rathburn, it was alleged, did not use industry standard equipment, but instead used a chainsaw to dismember the bodies, and then stacked diseased human heads on top of other heads, disregarding any risk of cross-contamination.

In one 2012 instance, an indictment detailed, Rathburn allegedly shipped an infected head wrapped in a garbage bag and packed in a camping cooler on a Delta cargo plane, falsely claiming it had been embalmed. Seven other human heads, along with large quantities of blood, were also part of the shipment and packed in the same unsafe and illegal manner, according to the indictment.

[View a copy of the indictment]

Rathburn was convicted of eight crimes Monday, including illegal transportation of hazardous material. Some of the crimes carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison apiece.

The government's witnesses included Elizabeth Rathburn — now  Rathburn's ex-wife —  who pleaded guilty to fraud.

A federal agent told jurors about raiding Rathburn's Detroit warehouse four years ago. Agent Leslie Larsen said she saw body parts frozen together.

Defense lawyers said Rathburn may have been negligent but he didn't commit crimes.

© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.