A collection of about 100 human brains, preserved in glass bottles and jars of formaldehyde, have gone missing from the University of Texas in Austin, the Associated Press reported.
The missing brains, which comprised of half of the university's collection, had one which is believed to have belonged to notorious killer and University of Texas alumni, Charles Whitman, who shot 46 people and killed 16, including his mother and wife, in a horrific massacre on the university's campus in 1966.
"We think somebody may have taken the brains, but we don't know at all for sure," psychology Professor Tim Schallert, co-curator of the collection, told the Austin American-Statesman, adding that since his psychology lab had space for only 100 brains, the rest were moved to the basement of the university's Animal Resources Center.
"They are no longer in the basement," psychology Professor Lawrence Cormack said. The brain specimens on campus are mainly used "as a teaching tool and carefully curated by faculty."
With no current leads, authorities suspect students may have stolen the specimens as a prank or to use as morbid Christmas Ornaments, according to USA Today.
"It's entirely possible word got around among undergraduates and people started swiping them for living rooms or Halloween pranks," Cormack, co-curator, said.
About 28 years ago, the Austin State Hospital had transferred the brains to the university under a "temporary possession" agreement.
Even though the university's agreement with the hospital required the school to remove any data that might identify the person from whom the brain came, Schallert said Whitman's brain likely was part of the collection.
"It would make sense it would be in this group. We can't find that brain," he said.
The university has launched an investigation to determine "the circumstances surrounding this collection since it came here nearly 30 years ago" and that it's "committed to treating the brain specimens with respect," a statement read.
Meanwhile, the remaining 100 brains on campus are closely being monitored and scanned with high-resolution resonance imaging equipment after having been transferred to the Norman Hackerman Building, Cormack said.
"These MRI images will be both useful teaching and research tools. It keeps the brains intact," he told the newspaper.
