Authorities in Scottsdale on Tuesday arrested a man accused of dumping human remains in the forest near Prescott.
Walter Mitchell is being held at the Yavapai County jail on 28 counts of improperly removing human remains, the Arizona Republic reported. Mitchell was arrested days after at least 24 human limbs and five human skulls were found in a remote area outside of Prescott on December 26.
"Abandoning remains in this manner is a serious crime and it is the intent of the Sheriff’s Office and Medical Examiner to find those culpable for such disrespect shown in the cavalier way the remains were discarded," the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said in a statement after the bodies were found.
Yavapai County authorities believe that the body parts are from Future GenX, a former Seattle-based company Mitchell owned that managed human cadavers used for research purposes. The remains were linked to him because they still had tags and medical gauze on them, AZFamily reported.
“This situation is unimaginable, and I am so sorry for the families whose loved ones were donated to research and treated by Walter Mitchell such a horrific fashion," Yavapai County Sheriff Scott Mascher said.
Investigators say that Mitchell traveled from Washington state to Arizona with five bodies. They have not yet established a motive for the crime.
Photo: Getty Images