Gruesome Find: 18 Human Heads Discovered at Chicago Airport

By Becky Bratu, NBC News

Gruesome Find: 18 Human Heads Discovered at Chicago Airport

January 15, 2013 Updated Jan 15, 2013 at 12:01 PM PDT

Authorities at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport are holding up a shipment of 18 human heads meant to be used in anatomical research at a facility in the Chicago suburbs, local media reported.

The heads arrived from Rome just before Christmas, and officials initially said an issue with paperwork caused the hold-up, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. But the newspaper reported Tuesday that authorities stopped the shipment from going through because it was headed to a facility that is under investigation.

According to an anonymous source quoted by the Sun-Times, the investigation itself is “absolutely not” connected to the shipment of the heads.

The heads, shipped from a legitimate facility in Italy, were properly embalmed, wrapped and tagged as human specimens, Paleologos told the AP. There is no suggestion of foul play, said a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

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