SFO employees find package with three human fetuses, woman charged with smuggling

SAN FRANCISCO — A Colorado woman has been charged with trying to smuggle human tissue from the United States to London, England, after airport package screeners flagged a package containing three fetuses before it boarded an international flight, according to court records.

Emily S. Cain was indicted Oct. 8 on a charge of attempted smuggling of goods, in violation of a federal law prohibiting the sale of human fetal tissue. Authorities believe the fetuses were stillborns from the 1920s and 1930s, which were donated to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and somehow made their way onto the Black Market.

Inside the fetus package, authorities found two other items: a card containing the words, “G. Howard McGinty, Director and Curator of McGinty Fine Oddities,” and a t-shirt depicting a skull and photo of a man connected to the business, Glen McGinty. Both items appear to be related to websites that advertise the sale of authentic human shrunken heads, human skulls, as well as a 10-step guide to how to shrink a head and other content somewhat outside of mainstream interests.

Investigators tracked down Cain as the sender, according to court records, and believe she called U.S. Postal Services to check on the status of her package after it didn’t arrive when expected. Cain’s fingerprints were found on the package, along with a single print matched to McGinty, authorities said.

Police also searched Cain’s Facebook messages, in which she allegedly advertised the fetuses, for prices ranging up to $20,000 for three fetuses and a skeleton. She encouraged one person to: “never hesitate to check in with me and see what we have. We don’t always post publicly,” according to the criminal complaint.

In another message, Cain allegedly said she acquired the fetuses through a friend who works at a university. Authorities interviewed someone with the Department of Medical Education at Creighton University, who confirmed the fetuses were from there and said they should have been cremated, not sold, once the school decided to get rid of them, according to the complaint.