And, The Beat Goes On...

In an earlier post, we learned that a South Carolina man was in dispute with a North Carolina man over an amputated leg that he lost when he stopped paying on the storage locker that he kept it in and it was sold. Today, we learn the outcome of the dispute:

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Nobody needs two left feet.

Even though a North Carolina man found an amputated human leg inside a smoker he bought at auction, he can't keep it, Judge Greg Mathis ruled on his television show in an episode that aired Thursday.

Shannon Whisnant had refused to return the leg to its owner, telling the judge he wanted to build a museum and charge people $10 to look at the limb, which had been cut off 2 to 3 inches above the knee.

"You're not getting that leg. I'm not giving you the man's leg," Mathis told Whisnant.

John Wood, whose left leg was amputated after a 2004 plane crash, joked to the judge about losing his leg twice. He had kept the leg and the cooker inside a rented storage space. When the South Carolina man couldn't pay the bill, the items were auctioned.

He said he wanted his severed leg so that it could be cremated with him when he dies.

The judge dismissed Wood's claim for emotional distress caused by media coverage of the case and ordered him to reimburse Whisnant $5,000.

The men had agreed to have their case settled by Mathis, and they signed papers that his decision was legally binding.

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Two Men Fight For Custody of Severed Leg

MAIDEN, North Carolina (AP) — A South Carolina man who stored his severed leg in a barbecue smoker that was later auctioned off is locked in a custody dispute with a North Carolina man who found it.

John Wood's leg was amputated near the knee after a 2004 airplane crash. He asked doctors to give it to him so he could be buried as a whole man when he died.

The limb, which Wood had kept in the smoker in a storage facility after he lost his home, was bought by Shannon Whisnant last Tuesday in an auction held by the storage company because Wood had missed his monthly payments.

Whisnant initially gave it to police, who subsequently turned it over to a funeral home when it became clear it was not the result of foul play.

But Whisnant, who put a sign on the empty smoker charging adults $3 and children $1 for a look, now wants it back.

"He's making a freak show out of it," Wood told The Charlotte Observer for a Monday story. "He wants to put money in his pocket with this thing."

Whisnant, who was unsuccessful in his bid to get the leg from the funeral home, consulted with a lawyer and decided his best move was to persuade Wood to share custody and profits.

"It's a strange incident and Halloween's just around the corner," Whisnant said. "The price will be going up if I get (a stake in) the leg."

Wood, who is heading to Maiden to pick up his leg, said the two men can meet, but he is not interested in using the leg to make money.

"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."

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