By Canon King
Writer
Last Thursday afternoon while transporting salt, one worker at the McEwen Department of Transportation discovered what looked to be a “dark rock”, later being identified as a human heart.
After receiving a call about the discovery the Humphreys County Sheriff’s sent the organ off for testing at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation where it was confirmed to be an adult male heart. The TDOT site was then shut down and turned into a crime scene. HCSO and TBI officers worked to filter out the salt from the barn by dumping it into a truck with two screens over it to confirm if any other body parts were present in the piles. No other remains were found.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 32 years and I have to say this is probably one of the top five most bizarre things I’ve ever seen,” said Sheriff Chris Davis. “It did appear to have been here for some time. Salt has a drying effect on the body similar to how it would on a country ham. I hate to use that as a reference, but imagine that this is what it is.”
DNA testing is currently being done on the heart in attempts to find out who it belonged to.
Although not many clues for the crime are presently obvious, it was said that the heart had been cut out with “medical precision”, meaning that whoever had cut out the heart knew what they were doing.
“At this time we don’t feel that anybody’s safety is in question,” said Sheriff Davis.
TBI released a statement regarding the investigation. “At the request of the 23rd Judicial District Attorney General Ray Crouch, TBI special agents are working along with deputies from the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office in investigating the discovery of a human heart in a TDOT salt facility in McEwen Thursday. An initial examination of the heart determined that it was that of an adult male. Additional DNA testing will be performed to try to determine its origin. This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
Stay tuned for more updates in future editions as information is released.
