Man who found leg in smoker wants to keep it
Amputee says he's livid that buyer wants to make a buck off his appendage.
Click-2-Listen
By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Monday, October 01, 2007
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Shannon Whisnant found a severed leg in a barbecue smoker. Now, he wants to keep it in hopes of obtaining fame and money.
Whisnant plans to make his case personally today when John Wood, the Greenville, S.C., man who lost the leg after an airplane crash three years ago and stored it in the smoker, comes to Maiden, N.C., to pick up his lost appendage
Wood says they can meet, but he's not interested in using the leg to make quick cash.
"I just think it's despicable," he said. "I don't mind having the 15 minutes of fame, but I'm not looking to really profit off this thing."
The story of Wood's leg goes back to 2004, when it was shattered in a plane crash that killed his father and injured two other family members. Doctors tried to save the leg for eight months but had to amputate. Wood told them that when he died, he wanted to be buried a whole man and asked to keep the leg.
The leg — foot, ankle and most of the calf — spent time in Wood's freezer until his electricity was cut off. Wood then hung it on a fence post to dry.
He was later evicted from his home and spent time living in his van. His mom said she'd pay to store his belongings for a couple of months, but after that, the $42 payments were his responsibility.
The leg, wrapped in paper and stored inside the smoker, went into storage. But Wood wasn't making the payments, and the owner of the storage facility sold the contents.
Whisnant bought the smoker, opened it and "thought it might have been part of a missing person or someone's ex-wife." He contacted police.
Now that Whisnant knows the leg isn't evidence of a murder, he feels it's his property.
He says he called every lawyer in the yellow pages looking for someone with experience in "cadaver law."
The leg has brought them some fame. Both have done interviews. Wood said he became a celebrity at a charity golf tournament that benefited people with amputated limbs. Whisnant charged people for a look inside the empty smoker: adults $3, children $1.
He figures there could be more opportunities. He knows there's interest; he's Googled the phrase "man finds leg in smoker" and got close to 2 million hits.
"He's making a freak show out of it," Wood said.
Shit! only in Stinkers town
And sure enough I rode by and he has a sign out front for admission to look at the cooker he found the leg in!LOLOL
Amputee says he's livid that buyer wants to make a buck off his appendage.
Click-2-Listen
By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Monday, October 01, 2007
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Shannon Whisnant found a severed leg in a barbecue smoker. Now, he wants to keep it in hopes of obtaining fame and money.
Whisnant plans to make his case personally today when John Wood, the Greenville, S.C., man who lost the leg after an airplane crash three years ago and stored it in the smoker, comes to Maiden, N.C., to pick up his lost appendage
Wood says they can meet, but he's not interested in using the leg to make quick cash.
"I just think it's despicable," he said. "I don't mind having the 15 minutes of fame, but I'm not looking to really profit off this thing."
The story of Wood's leg goes back to 2004, when it was shattered in a plane crash that killed his father and injured two other family members. Doctors tried to save the leg for eight months but had to amputate. Wood told them that when he died, he wanted to be buried a whole man and asked to keep the leg.
The leg — foot, ankle and most of the calf — spent time in Wood's freezer until his electricity was cut off. Wood then hung it on a fence post to dry.
He was later evicted from his home and spent time living in his van. His mom said she'd pay to store his belongings for a couple of months, but after that, the $42 payments were his responsibility.
The leg, wrapped in paper and stored inside the smoker, went into storage. But Wood wasn't making the payments, and the owner of the storage facility sold the contents.
Whisnant bought the smoker, opened it and "thought it might have been part of a missing person or someone's ex-wife." He contacted police.
Now that Whisnant knows the leg isn't evidence of a murder, he feels it's his property.
He says he called every lawyer in the yellow pages looking for someone with experience in "cadaver law."
The leg has brought them some fame. Both have done interviews. Wood said he became a celebrity at a charity golf tournament that benefited people with amputated limbs. Whisnant charged people for a look inside the empty smoker: adults $3, children $1.
He figures there could be more opportunities. He knows there's interest; he's Googled the phrase "man finds leg in smoker" and got close to 2 million hits.
"He's making a freak show out of it," Wood said.
Shit! only in Stinkers town
And sure enough I rode by and he has a sign out front for admission to look at the cooker he found the leg in!LOLOL
