University of Texas 100 missing brains - About 100 human brains preserved in jars at the University of Texas, Austin, are missing. The disappearance of the brains was announced on Wednesday.
The Uiversity of Texas 100 missing brains collection were reportedly soaked in formaldehyde to preserve them. Local sources say the brains were transferred to UT from Austin State Hospital about 28 years ago.
"We think somebody may have taken the brains, but we don't know at all for sure," a UT professor, whose identity has been withheld, said.
Although identification marks had been removed from the University of Texas 100 missing brains to protect them, UT authorities suspect that one of the missing brains may belong to Charles Whitman.
Charles Whitman was a former marine officer, who killed his family and then climbed to the top of UT clock tower, from where he shot, killed and injured dozens of civilians for 90 minutes. The Charles Whitman massacre, which is one of the deadliest in the campus' history, happened on August 1st, 1966.
Reports indicate that Charles Whitman had written a suicide note, which was found after he was gunned down. Whiteman requested an autopsy after his death and asked that scientists and doctors check what was wrong with his brain.
In the note, Whiteman also donated the monies from his life insurance policy to research on mental health. It is unclear if his insurance policy was used for this purpose.
Authorities are not sure who may have stolen the University of Texas 100 missing brains. The co-curator of the collection professor Lawrence Cornmack said the brains had never been missing since they were transferred to the university. According to AP, Cornmack said for many years, colleagues and undergraduate students may have been swiping the brains for living rooms or Halloween pranks.
This link shows rare Charles Whitman videos, as the news was first reported. It is possible to feel a sense of the shock and horror surrounding this shoot-out from these Charles Whiteman videos.
