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Partial Remains Of Possibly 100 People Found In Storage Shed
August 28, 2012
Partial remains of as many as 100 people have been found in storage unit in Pensacola.
The remains were reportedly from private autopsies performed from 1997 to 2007 by a former assistant medical examiner, Michael Berkland. The body parts — including hearts, lungs, brains and tissue samples — were stored in labeled containers and were believed to be from funeral homes in the Pensacola and Panama City areas.
The remains were found at Uncle Bob’s Storage on East Fairfield Drive when a unit was sold at auction. Many containers were labeled with the name or other information that can be used to notify families, but many parts were unlabeled.
The State Attorney’s Office does not believe that the parts were acquired through criminal activity, just through Berkland’s work.
The incident is under investigation by the Pensacola Police Department, the State Attorney’s Office and other agencies to determine if any laws were broken.
Comments
29 Responses to “Partial Remains Of Possibly 100 People Found In Storage Shed”
CONSIDERING:
“Hannibal Lecter had a medical degree too”
Implication: people with medical degrees are like Hannibal Lecter.
Truth: most people with medical degrees are NOT like Hannibal Lecter
David for good doctors
Hannibal Lecter had a medical degree too….and if memory serves me correctly had a storage facilty too…
Dr. Berkland lost his license pratice in Missouri before he came to this area. He is also the medical examiner who did the autopsy on Lori Klausutis; she was the 28 year old staffer that died in Congressman Joe Scarborough’s office.
Sounds like something out of a Robin Cook novel.
I hope all my parts make it to Oak Hill in Atmore, but not anytime too soon.
Isn’t the standard procedure for hospitals (if autopsy is performed) and funeral homes (after embalming) to burn any and all removed organs? While I agree that collecting organs is a very strange hobby for this doctor, I doubt that he can be charged with any criminal activity. Maybe the Health Department can check on his whereabouts – he is probably collecting human parts in the name of science somewhere else.
CONTEMPLATING:
“He came by these body parts of people with a soul and he did this because of his work..”
If we’re going to consider it from a theological point of view, the scripture tells us the soul leaves the body at death.
Psalms 90:10
“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”
You don’t have to actually believe it, but if you do believe the scripture, there it is. We know dead people don’t fly. (For that matter, most living people have a hard time flying, our arms are too short.) So we’re told that which makes us be us flies away at death. Note, that was written by a believer for other believers. There is other scripture for non believers (Luke 16:23 for example), but those also have the person no longer in the body at death.
David for distinctions
No criminal intent!! are the powers that be all gone crazy? He came by these body parts of people with a soul and he did this because of his work..I’m afraid to ask what more he could have done …he may break down and tell…this person needs to be locked up and the key thrown away…just because you have a degree…you feel makes you special and so in the name of science you rob body parts or buy them ..and keep them in a storage unit. What possible sane reason did he have for doing that? this is one sick person and I hope someone in the State Attorneys office will find something that can be done before we start finding not parts but whole bodies stored away…absolutely makes me sick!!!
Was it through a funeral home or an M.E.? If an M.E., how can I find out if my family members parts may be there? What company did he work for?
SICK SICK SICK
How does a person go about finding out if a particular person is in the mix?
CONSIDERING:
“Kind of makes me rethink the whole organ donor thing that I said yes to at the DMV.”
Not me, when I’m through using my parts, let someone have them who can benefit from them.
David for saving others
Sick! The funeral homes should be out of business for behavior like this. There must be an ethics board for them. Unfortunately funeral homes are rarely owned by families anymore that had reputations to keep. Now it is an industry and owned as a conglomerate. As Ricky Ricardo used to say, the former medical examiner also has some “splaining” to do.
Remember about ten years ago up in north Georgia when the funeral home out in the woods had boxes with corpses all around the property that had been scheduled for cremation and burial? I had some friends who went to the target range next door and they said that it was creepy driving up to the range.
I can not believe something like this can happen. My heart goes out to all of the families this is affecting. Reading this I pray I don’t get any calls you see I lost my precious mother 2 years ago and I can’t imagine someone doing this to anyone. I feel this person responsible needs to pay for this. Who knows they may be more somewhere else. Very sick individual but I bet his not alone in this horrible situation.
I agree with henden I would like to know the names of funeral homes. My thoughts and prayers are with Daileyy family.
Sad
Kind of makes me rethink the whole organ donor thing that I said yes to at the DMV.
@Daileyy – I am SO sorry that you have to go thru this. Losing a loved one is NEVER easy, and now having to deal with this, so sad. I DO hope they can find and in some way prosecute the person responsible. This is really an incomprehensible situation, and NEVER should have happened in the first place. Who would have thought …………….
If ANY funeral homes are involved in this, they should be listed so we know who NOT to use to allow to take care of our loved ones when they die.
This is beyond sick, and to think that anyone of us could receive a phone call informing us that a loved one’s body part could be in a storage building.
SICK SICK SICK
We more updates on this story as soon as the Funeral Homes are revealed.
This sounds like an episode of a crime show. Truth is stranger than fiction.
parts is parts
If he paid for these body parts then why put them in a storage unit and then not pay the rent. Sounds like he was up to no good! It is a disgrace and now he has put families through a new kind of pain. He should be prosecuted for this. If it was legal why were they not in a lab!!! This is disgusting!!! I am so sorry for the families that are his VICTIMS!
How awful for the families. Well, where is this Michael Berkland now? There’s laws against what he’s done. He must be sick in the head but if he did autopsies he had to have a medical degree so he;s not insane. He should pay for what he’s done.
” I agree with JW he should be prosecuted, this should be a hippa violation and all kinds of other violcations, just because its your work does not give you the right to store organs wherever you want then the shed gets auctioned off and whomever has right to see the names and all that, this just IS NOT right to me.
PPD just called my house around 7 and said my mee maw was in there
Make no BONES about it, this was a BONEhead place to store this stuff.
Sorry State Attorney, he’s probably your buddy in his profession, but in my opinion hemay have violated several privacy laws. By what right would he have to take ANY person’s organs or body parts home just because he was a medical examiner. He had NO right to abscond with them. Additionaly, if they were bought through legitimate Universities and donor sources..if they were paid for by the State he DOES NOT get to take what he wants home. The ONLY way he could actually own them is if he paid out of his own pocket for them from legitimate sources for legitimate RESEARCH. You do not get to buy them just for decoration. There were laws and rules broken and he should be prosecuted just for the morality of the situation. Human remains are not to be treated so callously…in a storage room…how were they discovered anyway? Did they stink because he didn’t follow regulations for their storage, or did he not pay the bill and the unit was going up for Auction?
Storage Wars! Maybe a season premiere.
How does this happen ,I told ya people are Nuts ,
I would like to think that whoever paid for that locker got a refund. GROSS!
Yeeep! How much does a locker like that run? Guess they take a loss, no profit..
omw, what in the world