Fetuses buried in Lutoryż garden: prosecutors rule out illegal abortions

In brief

• Prosecutors in Rzeszów say biegli excluded illegal abortions as the source of fetuses found on a private plot in Lutoryż.
• A 57-year-old pathomorphologist, Magdalena H., is charged with desecrating human remains and mishandling medical waste, and is in custody.
• Soil test results are still pending, while forensic examinations of the remains have been completed.

Forensic findings rule out illegal abortions

Experts examining the fetuses found in June on a private plot in Lutoryż, a village near Rzeszów, have excluded the hypothesis that they came from illegal abortions, the prosecutor's office said (32 płody zakopane w ogródku. Śledczy wykluczyli jedną z wersji – newsmaxpolska.pl) (W ogródku zakopała ludzkie płody. Śledczy mają opinię biegłych – TVN24) (Ludzkie płody na posesji w Lutoryżu. Nowe informacje. „Biegli wykluczyli" - Wiadomości Radio ZET – wiadomosci.radiozet.pl). Post-mortem examinations of the remains have been completed, and the prosecution has combined those results with witness statements in reaching its conclusion (Szczątki na posesji w Lutoryżu. Śledczy wykluczają nielegalne zabiegi – Wirtualna Polska) (Płody zakopane na działce w Lutoryżu. Nowe informacje od śledczych – Onet).

Suspect charged

Magdalena H., 57, a pathomorphologist who lived on the property, is suspected of burying the remains in her garden. She faces charges of desecrating human remains and improper handling of hazardous medical waste. According to reports, she told investigators she had carried the bodies of unborn children out of a hospital for research purposes. She is in custody.

What was found

Workers operating an excavator uncovered the remains during ground works in June, and police secured the site. Investigators also recovered large quantities of other medical waste, mainly paraffin blocks and microscope slides used in pathology work. Reports differ on the exact number of fetuses, with figures of 32 and 34 cited.

What comes next

Prosecutors are still waiting for results from soil tests on the property. The case remains under investigation.