FOND DU LAC COUNTY (NBC 26) — A man whose house was allegedly full of human remains and other concerning items appeared in a Fond du Lac County courtroom for the first time Wednesday, as new details emerge as to what was found inside his home.
47-year-old Benjamin C. Larson is charged with felony bail jumping, obstructing an officer and three counts of concealing stolen property.
According to a criminal complaint, deputies searched Larson's home in late August and found human skulls, a coffin with a nearly complete skeleton inside, serial killer memorabilia, items believed to be taken from Ed Gein's grave, a jar bearing a sign claiming to contain a piece of John Wayne Gacy's brain, and bottles labeled with poison names including arsenic and cyanide.
Some of the bones collected from Larson's residence "appeared to have soft tissue and bodily type substances still present on them."
WATCH JACK PORTER'S FULL BROADCAST STORY HERE:
District Attorney Eric Toney claims three of the skulls found in Larson's home are stolen property of Native American origin.
"Three counts concealing stolen property relate to prehistoric native American skulls that were located," Toney said.
Toney added later at a press conference that he has been in contact with an unnamed tribe about the discovery.
"I've had some initial contact with one of the tribes here in Wisconsin," Toney said. "Just to alert them that we believe we have some Native American remains that were recovered."
Larson is facing separate charges in Dane County for allegedly stalking a woman for 13 years. During the August search of Larson's home, deputies say they also found binders of information about the woman and handwritten journals describing Larson allegedly driving to the victim's Madison home and sitting outside while holding a machete.
Fond du Lac County Judge Douglas Edelstein noted that while some details about the case are disturbing, Larson's interests themselves are not outright criminal.
"To be intrigued by the peculiar is not a crime, fascination by the macabre is not a crime," Edelstein said.
Larson's bond was set at $250,000 with multiple conditions including not possessing any human or animal remains, and no dangerous weapons of any kind. He is slated to appear in court again on Sept, 4 at 9:30 a.m for his preliminary hearing.
