The 18 human heads that arrived at O'Hare International Airport just before Christmas — and remained there until this week — now appear to be on the last leg of their final journey.

The medical specimens had been in limbo since they arrived on a flight from Rome and were held up because of improper paperwork, according to Mary Paleologos, spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office, which took custody of the heads.

Late Tuesday morning, a suburban crematory came to claim them, she said.

"Now the cremation service has showed up with the proper paperwork," Paleologos said. "The medical examiner's office will photograph and X-ray each of the heads" before they are released.

The heads were originally shipped from the United States to Rome for medical research, and were then shipped back to be cremated. Paleologos doesn't know the name of the cremation service or where the heads began their journey in the United States.

Although initially there appeared to be a greater issue with the crematorium, it turned out to only be a paperwork snafu, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The heads were shipped from Rome as cargo on a Lufthansa Airlines flight, arriving at O'Hare about a week before Christmas.

"They were properly preserved and tagged as human specimens," said Tony Brucci, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office.

Brucci said U.S. Customs officials initially held up the shipment when they found the paperwork to be "a little confusing." Then the containers were X-rayed, and that's when officials discovered what was inside, Brucci said.

Brian Bell, a spokesman with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said earlier Tuesday the specimens appear to be legitimate medical samples.

"There's no issue with the transportation of body parts for medical purposes," Bell said. "There's nothing against the law that says you cannot ship them, provided you have the right documentation."

While Bell said he has never before fielded questions about a large package of human body parts, such shipments are not without precedent, he noted.

"Everybody here is 'Oh my gosh, you got a box of heads' and everybody thinks that it's unheard of," Bell said. "It is a potentially legitimate medical shipment. We've seen it at various ports in the nation."

— Sun-Times and Sun-Times Media Wire
© Copyright 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC

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The 18 human head specimens that arrived at O'Hare International Airport from Rome just before Christmas were on their way to a research facility in the Chicago suburbs — a facility that is "under investigation," a source told the Chicago Sun-Times Tuesday morning.

Officials initially said a paperwork problem prevented the shipment from being delivered to its final destination, but the Sun-Times has learned that the hold-up is connected to an ongoing investigation at the suburban facility in question. The investigation is "absolutely not" connected to the shipment of the heads, the source said.

The heads were shipped from Rome as cargo on a Lufthansa Airlines flight, arriving at O'Hare about one week before Christmas.

"They were properly preserved and tagged as human specimens," said Tony Brucci, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office.

Brucci said U.S. Customs officials at O'Hare initially held up the shipment, when they found the paperwork to be "a little confusing." Then the containers were X-rayed, and that's when officials discovered what was inside, Brucci said.

Brian Bell, a spokesman with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said earlier Tuesday that the specimens appear to be legitimate medical samples.

"There's no issue with the transportation of body parts for medical purposes," Bell said. "There's nothing against the law that says you cannot ship them, provided you have the right documentation."

While Bell said he has never before fielded questions about a large package of human body parts, such shipments are not without precedent, he noted.

"Everybody here is 'Oh my gosh, you got a box of heads' and everybody thinks that it's unheard of," Bell said. "It is a potentially legitimate medical shipment. We've seen it at various ports in the nation."

Bell declined to say where the package was shipped from, where its intended destination is, or how the heads were preserved.

The specimens, which are still covered in skin, were sent to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office for inspection, authorities said. Foul play was not involved in the collection of the heads.

"We need to make sure that they are truly used for medical research purposes," said Bell.

--Sun-Times
© Copyright 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC

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Investigators are working to determine if a shipment of 18 human heads intercepted by customs officials at O’Hare Airport are, in fact, legitimate medical specimens, authorities said Tuesday morning.