Editor's Note: This story contains disturbing and graphic descriptions.
Now that the gag order has been lifted in the Dr. Kermit Gosnell case, new details are beginning to emerge. While gruesome in nature, they also tell us more about the doctor's "house of horrors," shed light on the filthy conditions inside of his home and highlight authorities' unsuccessful quests to locate additional corpses.
Police investigator John Taggart is now sharing details about what he saw when he searched the doctor's properties. It was Feb. 2010, as the Daily Mail notes, that Taggart and his team began looking into Gosnell's homes and clinic to search for fetal remains and other related evidence; their quest came following revelations made during a raid on the Women's Medical Society.
Philadelphia police officer John Taggart, right, accompanied by District Attorney Seth Williams with crime scene unit speaks with members of the media Wednesday, May 15, 2013, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP
Taggart described Gosnell's home as being riddled with filth. While WCAU-TV reports that the doctor had high-end appliances and televisions inside the house, the overall conditions were unbelievably dirty.
"He just lived in squalor. He would leave plates of food on the floor," Taggart told WCAU-TV. "There was stuff everywhere in the bedroom. You couldn’t see the bed."
Adding to the bizarre details, the investigator claims that Gosnell played Chopin on his piano, while police searched portions of the home wearing bio-hazard suits. The most shocking element of the story is what happened to authorities when they went downstairs.
"As soon as they went down into the basement, they were covered in fleas," Taggart told the outlet. "He actually gave us a bottle of flea repellent and said, 'See what a nice guy I am? I told you there were fleas in the basement.’ He said ‘I didn’t have to tell ya’s.'"
In this May 1, 2013 file photo, letters are missing from the directory of Dr. Kermit Gosnell's former facility, the Women's Medical Society, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP
Police also went to Brigantine, New Jersey, to visit the doctor's shore home. The Philadelphia Police Crime Scene Unit was in search of possible fetal remains, as WCAU-TV reports that some of the babies were -- and still are -- unaccounted for. They found nothing at the property. And while Taggart said that it was not well-kept, the land was described as beautiful.
“I believe they are either buried out there or I don’t know where they are. We’ve looked, we’ve looked for three years,” the investigator said of babies that are unaccounted for.
As for the clinic, Taggart said he will remember what he saw for quite some time to come. In addition to dead babies stuffed in a refrigerator, police found severed feet and other horrific conditions. TheBlaze has reported about these elements throughout Gosnell's grisly trial.
And then there is one of the more graphic revelations. When police plunged the break-room sink, he said "an arm popped out on Lancaster Avenue," as Taggart said that staff at the clinic were putting body parts down the garbage disposal (this corroborates details that were shared by witnesses in the courtroom).
"The smells were just unbearable. You could tell there was death somewhere," the investigator said. "Opening up the cabinet and seeing all the feet. I’ll remember that for a long time."
Watch the investigator describe the conditions, below:
Gosnell was convicted of first-degree murder on Monday and given three consecutive life sentences. TheBlaze's extensive coverage of the case can be found here.
(H/T: WCAU-TV)
