FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A Fond du Lac man previously charged with felony stalking is facing new charges after authorities made a series of gruesome discoveries involving human remains and serial killer memorabilia at his home last month.
Benjamin Larson, 47, was released from jail after posting bond in late August following his arrest for allegedly stalking a Madison woman he briefly dated more than a decade ago.
But in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court, Larson is now facing additional charges for felony bail jumping, obstructing an officer, and three counts of concealing stolen property valued in the thousands of dollars.
Watch our previous story on this gruesome case in the video below:
The complaint, obtained by TJM4 News Wednesday morning, shows investigators who executed a search warrant of his home in Aug. 14 found a large and disturbing collection in his basement, which included a glass-topped coffin containing a nearly full human skeleton, shrines dedicated to infamous serial killers like Ed Gein, graphic crime scene and autopsy photos from historical murders and killings, and a locked, hidden room containing a bed with a life-size sex doll, an altar with bones and knives, and multiple human skulls displayed on shelves.
Those findings led investigators with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office to seek out the expertise of Dr. Jordan Karsten, a forensic expert to determine whether the bones were human or man-made.
Forensic analysis reveals bones were from deceased Potawatomi Tribe members
In her initial report, Karsten noted the remains were likely real and not “anatomical teaching specimens,” according to court documents. She also found that three of the skulls in Larson’s possession were identified as archaeological Native American human remains. Other bones, such as a femur and humerus, appeared to be more recent, as soft tissue was still present in them.
“A human before bone recovered showed signs of having been cut or damaged with a handsaw,” according to the complaint.
The complaint shows Larson provided a list of stores he claimed sold him the human remains found inside his home. But detectives working the case soon discovered inconsistencies based on the list Larson provided to them.
Investigators working the case reached out to six different stores from Larson’s list – Skulls Unlimited, Blood Moon Oddities, and Ear Wax to inquire about the alleged sale of human remains and other graphic memorabilia.
At the first store, employees told investigators they had no record that Larson ever purchased anything from them. At Blood Moon Oddities, employees there told investigators that they would not have sold human remains to Larson as they “were not allowed” to do so. At the last store, Ear Wax, detectives eventually determined Larson provided an incorrect of the store, which turned out to be a record and music shop.
The remaining stores that investigators reached out had either no record of Larson as a customer, had sold him “bone rosaries… intended for Buddhist religious practice” or said they wouldn’t have “gifted” him human remains.
Complaint shows suspect tried to dig up Native American remains
Court documents obtained by TMJ4 News also show Larson had previously found Native American remains in the 1990s, which he turned over to the Wisconsin Historical Society — which later refused his requests to have them returned.
A search of Larson’s phone would reveal a photo from April 2016 showing Larson at a burial site, “which appeared related to prior human remains turned over to the Wisconsin Historical Society by the Defendant” that were later reburied by the Potawatomi Tribe on tribal land, the complaint states.
During an interview with law enforcement this past Monday, Larson admitted he had no tribal affiliation or professional background in archaeology. He also provided conflicting stories about how he came to the possession of the skulls inside his home when confronted about the inconsistencies in his statements to Fond du Lac deputies.
Additionally, Larson initially claimed some human remains were purchased from stores that were either closed or didn’t sell them, later claiming the remains and other oddities in his possession were passed down as family heirlooms. He also admitted to visiting the reburial site of the Potawatomi Tribe and digging “slightly” into the ground for human remains, according to the complaint.
Larson was taken into custody as soon as the interview with deputies was over, the complaint states.
Detectives working the case did some follow-up research on the valuation of those human remains and found that each skull specimen found inside his home could be purchased from $2,500 - $4,000, with Native American remains exceeding $2,500 in value.
Investigators “found no legal avenue for [Larson] to have obtained the three Native American skulls and human remains… and believe the three Native American skulls to have been illegally obtained or stolen,” the court document reads.
A judge set up Larson’s cash bond for the additional charges at $250,000. His next court appearance is set for Sept. 4 at 9:30 a.m.
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