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Skeletal Remains From Worcester Cemetery Found In Man's Home, Police Say

HARTFORD, Conn. (CBS) -- A Connecticut man faces charges in a bizarre crime: stealing skeletal remains from a Worcester cemetery.

Police believe the man stole the bones for religious reasons.

The remains came from Houghton Mausoleum at Hope Cemetery. They were interred between the early and late 1900s.

Houghton Mausoleum
Houghton Mausoleum at Hope Cemetery in Worcester. (Courtesy photo: Christopher Kirk)

The remains included three adults and two young children, and they ended up inside a Hartford, Connecticut home, police say.

32-year-old Amador Medina was taken into custody and charged as a fugitive from justice from Massachusetts by Hartford Police. Worcester Police also have charged him with five counts of disinterment of bodies, conspiracy to commit a crime (disinterment of bodies), and accessory before the fact (breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony).

Investigators say Medina was cooperative and showed them where to find the remains.

"The bones, I believe in this instance, according to our interview with the accused, would be used for medicinal purposes and medicinal practices in the Santeria faith," said Worcester Police Sgt. Brian Foley. "It exists in the Latino community...Again, we see it quite often with animals, be it chickens or pigs."

Medina will be in a Connecticut court on Monday. He is also expected to be arraigned in Worcester.

People living near the cemetery are alarmed. Fran Daviau's parents, grandparents, and some uncles are all buried at Hope Cemetery.

"Very disturbing. What would you do with body parts like that, you know?" he says. "Or old skeletons you know? And this is a place of rest for your loved ones...I'd probably snap if it was one of my family members."

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