PENSACOLA, Fla., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Human body parts were found in a Florida storage unit rented by a former medical examiner, and the Attorney General's Office said it is considering charges.
The remains of more than 100 people, including hearts, lungs, tissue samples and 10 brains were discovered in containers Friday in a Pensacola, Fla., storage unit rented by former associate medical examiner Dr. Michael Berkland, officials said.
The body parts appear to be from private autopsies Berkland conducted between 1997 and 2007, state Medical Examiner Dr. Andi Minyard said, adding that while the state permits private autopsies it attempts to regulate improper storage of biomedical waste.
Berkland worked for the Medical Examiner's Office between 1997 and 2003, and was fired for failing to complete autopsies in a timely manner, the Pensacola, Fla., News Journal reported Tuesday.
Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said he will conduct an investigation that will include the Pensacola Police Department, state health officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Minyard said most of the remains are labeled by name and date, but "several of these tissue buckets and several of the brains don't have any labels, so we have no idea who they would have belonged to."
