He knew the body parts he sold were diseased, but the doctors and dentists didn’t

The discovery of body parts stockpiled in freezers and stored next to food and piles of insects and blood on the floor was just the tip of the iceberg.

The “filthy” Detroit warehouse raided in 2013 contained remains that were infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and hepatitis B, prosecutors said. The heads, torsos and other parts were stored there to be sold.

But the buyers—medical professionals who used them for training and study—weren’t aware that the remains were infected, prosecutors say, according to the Detroit News.

Arthur Rathburn bought body parts “no one else wanted and then flipped them for money,” ABC 7 reported. The diseased remains were cheaper, so he could make more money, the Associated Press reported. The parts were used for medical training, according to the AP.

On Monday, a jury convicted Rathburn of wire fraud charges, and of illegally transporting hazardous materials. He was found not guilty of making false statements, two other counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting, ABC 7 reported.

The jurors had heard testimonies detailing Rathburn’s horrific business practices, including an account from his ex-wife and business partner, Elizabeth Rathburn, who says he assured her that embalming could deactivate the viruses, the AP reported.

The couple lied about the body parts because they didn’t want to lose money, she testified. Rathburn pleaded guilty to wire fraud and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, CBS Detroit reported.

James Durkee had just started working at the International Biological Inc. warehouse in January 2012 when he was tasked with helping Arthur Rathburn dissect a body, according to his testimony, The Detroit News reported.

Rathburn handed him a chainsaw, the publication reported.

“It disturbed me,” Durkee said.

When the warehouse lost power for three days, the remains “thawed,” Durkee said, and the “bodily fluids leaked out,” The Detroit News reported.

In one instance, Rathburn shipped on a Delta cargo plane an infected head wrapped in a garbage bag and packed in a camping cooler, according to an indictment. Seven other human heads were part of the shipment and allegedly packed in the same manner, CBS Detroit reported.

Buying and selling body parts for research and education isn’t what Rathburn was busted for – it’s legal under U.S. law, according to Reuters. But selling them to buyers who thought the remains were clean when they weren’t is what was considered fraud.

One of Rathburn’s unsuspecting buyers, Dr. Kevin Vorenkamp, an anesthesiologist in Seattle, took the stand and explained that doctors won’t accept bodies that have tested positive for diseases like HIV because of concerns about cutting into them, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The defense tried to encourage the jury not to form a mental picture of what federal prosecutors described as a “disgusting” warehouse teeming with dismembered bodies, ABC 7 reported. Rathburn’s lawyers also argued that the case was nothing more than a contract dispute with his clients, thus making it a civil matter, not a criminal one, Reuters reported.

Rathburn faces up to 20 years in prison. He’s expected to be sentenced this spring, Reuters reported.

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 7:33 PM with the headline "He knew the body parts he sold were diseased, but the doctors and dentists didn’t."