Man Sells Coffin On Craigslist, Questioned About Bones Inside

A man attempted to sell a coffin on Craigslist, and was questioned about the bones inside.

Craigslist is a place to find a lot of great deals, and occasionally you find someone selling something a little strange. However, it’s not often that you find someone selling a coffin on the internet’s most famous flea market.

A man in Iowa did just that, attempting to sell a coffin on Craigslist with a full skeleton inside. He didn’t get away with it, however, as Police interrupted the transaction and seized the contents.

It was discovered that the coffin once belonged to a chapter of the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil of the International Order of Odd Fellows, an organization which promotes giving to the poor, no questions asked.

Dave Bergstrum said he was trying to sell the coffin for $12,000 in an effort to raise money for the property taxes on the organization’s hall. The coffin was made in the 1900s and the bones had been inside for years. The bones had been used to represent death in a ritual, and Bergstrum claims the bones had been donated by a doctor who had retired around 1880.

Council Bluffs, Iowa law dictates that without the proper identification papers, human remains can not be legally sold. Council Bluffs Police detective Michael Roberts added, “If they had papers of origination, then they would be OK to own.”

The skeleton itself has been sent to the Iowa State Medical Examiner, where Karen Foreman, a forensic investigator, says the skeleton’s race and gender could be determined, but its identity may never be known. If the skeleton is proven to be of Native American descent, it will be returned to the tribe of origin.

Dave Bergstrum, the man selling the coffin on Craigslist, said they can keep the skeleton if they want it, but he will still try to sell the coffin itself and pay the taxes on the organization’s hall.

What do you think of the man selling the coffin on Craigslist? Where do you think the skeleton came from?