Skeletal remains from five bodies were discovered in a Hartford, Connecticut, apartment and police arrested the tenant who told them the bones were used for medicinal purposes in accordance with his religion.
The remains were linked to five grave robberies at a cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts, police said Saturday.
The tenant of the second-floor apartment, 32-year-old Amador Medina, was taken into custody as a fugitive wanted by law enforcement in Massachusetts.
"He is a practicing Santeria priest, which is a religion in some Latino communities," said Hartford Deputy Chief Brian Foley. "The bones or the skeletal remains that were taken from the cemetery are used in this religion for medicinal purposes."
Santeria, which originated in Cuba, mixes elements of Roman Catholic beliefs with traditional Yoruba beliefs prevalent in Western Africa. The most controversial Santeria ritual is animal sacrifice.
Investigators said Medina was cooperative and showed officers where the skeletal remains were located inside the apartment.
Worcester police subsequently charged Medina with five counts of disinterment of bodies, conspiracy to commit a crime and breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony.
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There was no indication that Medina had obtained a lawyer who could comment on the charges.
Worcester police were called to Hope Cemetery on Oct. 9 to investigate a report of a break-in at a mausoleum there. The officers saw that several crypts had been forced open and the bodies disinterred, investigators said.
A forensic anthropologist determined that the skeletal remains of three adults and two young children had been removed from their caskets.
Investigators said they've been unable to locate any surviving family members. The last person interred in the mausoleum was placed there about 71 years ago, they said.
