Newly released court documents detail how investigators say a man accused in the theft of human remains from a Denton cemetery told a family member he needed to move a body and threw a bucket of remains over a fence at the FBI’s Dallas field office.
According to an arrest affidavit, Michael Chadwick Fry, 41, told his mother on March 16 that he needed money to rent a U-Haul because he “had a body that needed to be moved.” When she questioned him, Fry became irate and left the home, prompting a 911 call, the affidavit states.
Bartonville police responded to the residence in the 500 block of Oakwood Drive and issued a bulletin to nearby agencies for possible suspicious activity at U-Haul locations.
Investigators said Fry posted a video on YouTube recorded outside the FBI’s Dallas field office. In the video, titled “We send Elizabeth over the FBI fence to summon them by force,” Fry throws a closed white bucket over a fence into the facility’s parking lot, according to the affidavit.
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An FBI agent told investigators the bucket contained numerous bones that appeared to be human. The remains are awaiting further forensic analysis, the document states.
Additional videos reviewed by investigators show Fry holding what appears to be a human skull at the Bartonville residence. The skull is described as having dirt, hair and other organic material still attached.
In the videos, Fry refers to the remains as “Elizabeth Virginia Lyon.” Investigators believe the skull and the bones recovered at the FBI facility are connected, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states Fry’s mother found recent GPS searches for cemeteries in Arlington and Oklahoma City in a vehicle he drives. She also reported finding a shovel at the residence that was not there before and said Fry had begun locking a shed in the backyard— behavior she described as unusual.
Authorities allege Fry knowingly carried away or treated human remains in an offensive manner without legal authority, supporting a charge of abuse of a corpse, a state jail felony.
The investigation began after remains recovered during a separate Bartonville police case were believed to have come from the IOOF Cemetery in Denton. A search of the cemetery led officers to a damaged mausoleum where remains were missing.
Fry has been arrested in connection with the case. The investigation remains ongoing.