Numerous human bones, some of which were being used as furniture, were found inside an apartment in Mount Washington when FBI agents executed a federal search warrant there.
During a search of James William Nott’s house on Love Avenue early on Tuesday morning, up to 40 skulls were discovered.
The raid was first reported by WAVE News Troubleshooters, who are also verifying information regarding possible human remains. Hours before Nott was scheduled to have a detention hearing regarding his recent arrest, that confirmation was given on Wednesday morning.
The criminal complaint claims that Nott was a part of a network that bought and sold stolen human remains, some of which were connected to the recent FBI-uncovered Harvard Medical scandal. In Nott’s house, a Harvard medical bag was discovered.
According to the complaint, the FBI was looking into cases of body parts disappearing from morgues. FBI agents were able to locate several players, including Nott, thanks to the leads amassed during the investigation.
Hip bones and spinal cords that had been used as furniture decorations were among the gruesome find. As many as 40 skulls were also mentioned; one of them had a scarf around its neck, and another was allegedly discovered on Nott’s bed.
According to the complaint, When an FBI agent asked Nott if there were any other people in the apartment, Nott allegedly responded, “Only my dead friends.”
On Facebook, Nott advertised the goods under the alias “William Burke”. The documents state that some of the posts date as recently as June 2023. Nott sent images and videos of the remains in one exchange with Jeremy Pauley from Pennsylvania.
Pauley questioned Nott, “How much total for the couple and the last video you sent plus the spines.” He assures Nott that he will see to it that he is paid.
The Pennsboro Township Police Department received a tip that Pauley’s Pennsylvania home might contain human remains, which sparked the investigation. According to the documents, when agents searched his home, they discovered human remains, including skin and organs.
Pauley was speaking with a worker at a funeral home in Little Rock, Arkansas. Detectives discovered that the employee had been stealing human remains intended for cremation and selling them to Pauley. Along with those remains, there were two fetal specimens, hearts, brains, and lungs.
According to the complaint, Pauly was the one who alerted authorities to a network of stolen remains. The manager of the morgue for the Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Program, a man named Cedric Lodge, was another person who was thought to be a part of the network.
Agents found transactions Nott made while conducting the investigation.
Nott was detained right away following the Tuesday raid and was initially accused of possessing a firearm while a prohibited person. Agents discovered numerous loaded weapons in the house, at least one of which was an AK-47. According to the documents, they also discovered two body armor plates and inert grenades.
Following the raid, WAVE News Troubleshooters discovered Nott had served roughly three years in prison in 2011 for possessing a “mass” collection of destructive device parts, such as those for grenade propellants and grenade casings. That case was looked into by the ATF. These documents showed Nott had previously admitted to building destructive devices.
