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HUMPHREYS COUNTY, Tenn. — Investigators are working to determine how a human heart wound up in a salt pile owned by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
TDOT workers were working with the salt pile to make brine on Thursday, and as they took out some salt, they found what they initially believed was an oddly shaped rock, WSMV reported.
“I’ve been on some crazy stuff, but this is by far one of the most unusual crime scenes I’ve ever been on,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told WKRN.
In a statement to WZTV, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed it was investigating the case and said that an initial examination of the heart indicated it belonged to an adult male. TBI said that additional DNA testing would be performed to try to further identify the heart.
“We are treating this as a crime scene,” Davis told WKRN. “We are working very diligently to find or not find anything else at this location. … At this time we don’t feel that anybody’s safety is in question.”
Davis told WKRN that because of the dehydrating properties of salt, it could be difficult to determine how long the heart had been in the salt pile.
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