A Connecticut man is accused of storing human remains that were stolen from a cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Police were called to an apartment inside a multi-family home where there was a report human remains being stored.
Police said the homeowner, Amador Medina, admitted to having bodies in the house and invited police inside to show them. Police then found remains of three adults and two children.
Investigators were able to link the remains to five graves that had been robbed at a cemetery in Worcester, Mass. Police said on Oct. 9, it was discovered a mausoleum at Hope Cemetery was broken into. The mausoleum was secured with two wooden doors and a rod iron gate, along with a heavy gauge chain and lock. Police said the chain had been cut and rust marks on the chain led police to believe the chain the break-in had happened a while back; the exact time is not known.
In the mausoleum, officers saw that several crypts had been forced open and bodies disinterred. There was also damage to the crypt's panels, said police, along with missing skeletal remains.
Investigators attempted to contact family members, but were unsuccessful. It is believed the last time someone was put into the mausoleum was 71 years ago.
On Saturday, after a search of Amador Medina's apartment, detectives from Connecticut contacted Worcester Police and said they had found remains from Hope Cemetery, said police.
Medina is a practicing Santeria priest, a Caribbean religion in which remains are used for medicinal purposes. However, the remains are usually from animals.
Amador Medina, 32, was taken into custody on charges of being a fugitive of justice in Massachusetts. Worcester Police charged Medina with five counts of disinterment of bodies, conspiracy to commit a crime and accessory before the fact.
