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pathologists examining fetuses found inside a mckeesport garage will need weeks to identify the remains, but even then might not be 100 percent successful.
the number of fetuses discovered has jumped from an early estimate of several dozen to more than 300.
the allegheny county coroner's office took stock of the shocking discovery and busied itself yesterday with matching fetal information to cases at magee-womens hospital.
investigators were treading on unfamiliar territory since the discovery saturday at the detached garage of a house that once belonged to former funeral director robert b. winston jr. of mckeesport.
"we've never had a case like this before," chief deputy coroner joseph dominick said yesterday.
at least some of those remains were apparently turned over to pittsburgh cremation service in ross. owner fred donatelli confirmed yesterday that winston had brought fetal remains from the oakland hospital to his business for cremation between 1999 and 2002, but he could not say how many.
donatelli said his staff typically does not check the contents of the container brought to him for cremation, so he could not say definitively that winston brought him actual human remains.
as news of the discovery spread, women who had lost babies at magee wondered if the remains of their children were among those stored in the garage in the 1800 block of evans street.
dominick said the coroner's office was sorting out not only whose remains they had but how authorities would proceed with contacting families and handling arrangements.
it was not a certainty that criminal charges would arise from the case, despite its bizarre and unsettling nature. but morton said that charges of abuse of a corpse might pertain, depending on certain variables.
the fetuses were discovered by winston's ex-wife, renee brooks, who broke into the padlocked garage. dominick said she stumbled upon 27 stacked cardboard moving boxes labeled on the outside with such things as "medical waste," "fetuses" and "autopsy cases for winston funeral home."
inside each deteriorating box, investigators found one or more plastic biohazard waste bags. within each bag were multiple plastic containers akin to tupperware, some quart-sized, others bigger.
fetal remains from less than 16 weeks to full-term babies were stored in embalming fluid inside those containers. in some cases, smaller containers were found inside larger ones, and fetal remains had been commingled and displaced into plastic bags, dominick said.
"a lot of these cases will never be able to be identified through any scientific testing," dominick said, noting that fetuses could not be identified through fingerprints, dental records or, possibly, even dna testing.
state department of health spokesman richard mcgarvey said his department is not involved in the investigation. but generally, he said, hospitals are required to make arrangements to dispose of biological materials either in their own incinerators or with a third party, usually a funeral director.
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8/31/2005- by Josh
