BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. (Court TV) — A Kentucky man connected to a nationwide stolen body parts scheme decorated his home with human remains, according to a federal indictment obtained by Court TV.
This booking photo provided by the Oldham County Jail shows James Nott. (Oldham County Jail)
FBI agents made the discovery in James Nott’s Mt. Washington apartment on July 11, 2023, while executing a search warrant for unlawful possession of firearms and weapons.
When asked if anyone else was inside the home during the search, Nott allegedly replied, “Only my dead friends.”
Inside Nott’s apartment, authorities found “approximately 40 human skulls, spinal cords, femurs, and hip bones.” An indictment states the skulls were displayed as decorations, and a Harvard Medical School bag was also discovered.
Multiple firearms and ammunition were also found in the possession of Nott, who is a convicted felon.
Federal investigators zeroed in on Nott during their investigation of Jeremy Pauley, a Pennsylvania man accused of buying and selling stolen human remains. Pauley allegedly bought the remains from Candace Chapman, who stole them from a Little Rock mortuary where she worked.
Cedric Lodge, a former manager at the Harvard Medical school morgue, was also implicated in the network of stolen body parts. In June, Lodge, his wife and three others were indicted in the nationwide scheme, reports the Associated Press.
Federal investigators say Nott purchased human remains from Pauley in 2022. An indictment also claims Nott posted “human remains for sale on Facebook as recently as June 2023.”
