FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A Fond du Lac man previously charged with felony stalking is now facing additional charges after investigators say they discovered Native American human remains, shrines to serial killers and other disturbing evidence inside his home.
Benjamin Larson, 47, appeared in Fond du Lac County court Wednesday on three felony counts of concealing stolen property, one count of felony bail jumping and one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer.
The charges stem from an Aug. 14 search of Larson’s rural Fond du Lac County home during a separate Dane County stalking investigation. Larson had previously been charged with stalking a Madison woman he briefly dated more than a decade ago.
On Friday, Larson waived his preliminary, and he'll be arraigned on Monday, Sept. 28
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A judge set Larson’s cash bond at $250,000 Wednesday.
“The court appreciates that the nature of this case is particularly unusual,” Judge Douglas Edelstein said during the hearing.
Court documents obtained by TMJ4 News describe a large collection of human remains and other materials investigators found inside Larson’s basement, including multiple human skulls, skeletal remains, altars made of human bones, serial killer memorabilia and a locked basement room investigators said contained jars labeled with women’s names that appeared to contain locks of human hair.
Investigators also described finding what appeared to be more modern remains, including bones that allegedly still had soft tissue attached.
“A human femur bone recovered showed signs of having been cut or damaged with a handsaw,” the criminal complaint states.
Prosecutors say forensic testing determined three skulls recovered from the home were likely archaeological Native American remains.
“The specific charges here on the concealing of stolen property relate to three of the what have been at least determined to be Native American skulls,” Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said after Wednesday’s hearing.
Toney called the allegations contained in the Dane County and Fond du Lac County complaints “incredibly disturbing” and said the investigation remains ongoing.
Investigators say Larson provided inconsistent explanations about where the remains came from, at times claiming they were family heirlooms, legally purchased or connected to Native American burial grounds near his family property.
The obstructing charge alleges Larson misled investigators during interviews about how he obtained some of the remains.
Lighthouse
New documents detail creepy contact and human remains in Fond Du Lac man's home
Larson’s attorney, Sara Christensen, pushed back on prosecutors’ allegations during Wednesday’s hearing, arguing investigators still have not proven the remains were illegally obtained.
“Mr. Larson’s home is on a Native American burial site. That’s where the issue comes in here,” Christensen told the court.
The defense also argued some of the remains may have been legally purchased through oddities expos or inherited through family members.
Judge Edelstein acknowledged the disturbing nature of the allegations while cautioning against speculation.
“To be intrigued by the peculiar is not a crime. Fascination of the macabre is not a crime,” the judge said.
Still, Edelstein said the allegations justified a high cash bond, calling the case one that “invites immense fear because of the grotesque nature of the allegations.”
The criminal complaint also alleges Larson had previously discovered Native American remains in the 1990s and turned them over to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Investigators say Larson later attempted to regain possession of the remains and revisited a tribal burial site where they had been reburied.
According to the complaint, Larson admitted during a recent interview that he returned to the site and dug “slightly” into the ground.
Investigators say forensic testing on additional remains recovered from the home is still ongoing, and prosecutors did not rule out the possibility of additional charges.
Larson is scheduled to return to court Friday for a preliminary hearing.
Óscar Contreras contributed to this report.
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