18 Human Heads Found At O'Hare Airport [UPDATED]

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jan 15, 2013 2:30PM

Customs agents found a shipment of 18 human heads at O'Hare Airport, but officials believe it's probably just a poorly marked medical shipment.

Shipments of body parts aren't illegal or even unusual, but investigators must determine whether or not these are legitimate medical specimens.

“Everybody here is ‘Oh my gosh, you got a box of heads’ and everybody thinks that it’s unheard of,” Department of Homeland Security. spokesman Brian Bell told the Sun-Times. “It is a potentially legitimate medical shipment. We’ve seen it at various ports in the nation.”

The heads were sent to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office, which reports foul play was not involved in the collection of the heads. Officials declined to comment on the origin or destination of the package.

Update 5:36 p.m.: The Sun-Times reports a crematory from suburban Schiller Park came to claim the heads. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office said the crematory has the proper paperwork, but that they won't be released until they're confirmed by federal authorities.