<< Front page News February 13, 2004

Brain in dorm raid
Specimen in hands of Lorain County coroner

A shocking find awaited a ResLife custodian on a cold December day during a random end-of-semester room check. On one student’s shelf, the surprised employee found a jar with a human brain floating in it.

“This is the most unusual finding we’ve had,” said Safety and Security Director Robert Jones said.

The incident was quickly put under investigation, but the file will not be open to the public.

“The brain appears to have been taken from an anthropology lab and the College takes a dim view of any theft on campus,” Dean of Students Peter Goldsmith said.

He considers the situation more complicated than it might appear, not only because it is a case of theft, but also because the student broke another law as well.

“It’s illegal to be in possession of human body parts without being properly licensed,” Goldsmith explained. Hospitals, for example, possess the necessary permit.

“Even though it made for funny headlines, it is a serious matter,” Goldsmith added.

“Technically the case is still under investigation,” officer Garry Kriesen, who was on duty the day the brain was found, said.

He recalled that Safety and Security received a call from ResLife, notifying them of the finding. One of his colleagues went to check on the call. Later she reported to him about the situation.

“This case is the strangest one I have ever had in 25 years,” officer Kriesen said. He added that the security service on campus has faced other unusual findings over the years.

“There was the room of lizards,” Kriesen said. “Three lizards that went loose and we had to chase them around the building for three days.”

“One student had a ferret,” Jones remembered.

“The ferret went loose, too,” Kriesen added. “You can tell it was somebody’s pet, because it was adopted.”

Still it seems like the most recent case is the most interesting one. For now, the brain has been turned over to the county coroner.

“The case is going through the channels,” Kriesen said.

The student said he found the brain next to a garbage can. The case is still being investigated


 
 
   

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