NEW PHILADELPHIA — Human remains found under floorboards in a house in Tamaqua were discussed at the fifth annual Forensic Science Symposium in New Philadelphia on Saturday.
The symposium is for EMS personnel, coroners and others to gain continuing credits needed for certification in their fields. About 40 people attended the event that included eight speakers on seven topics.
Dr. Alexandra Klales, assistant research professor at Mercyhurst University, Erie, talked about the remains for about 10 minutes.
She said the case is a sad one.
“It’s a tragedy anytime a child dies,” she said, but the remains can help students in their studies.
The child was likely less than 10 pounds before death, she said.
The remains were found Feb. 10 under a floor board in the attic of a house at 237 Clay St., Tamaqua, according to the Tamaqua Police Department. The remains are from a baby that was likely between 38 and 40 weeks, according to a report from Mercyhurst Forensic Anthropology Laboratory, Erie.
The department examined the remains and compiled a report. The age and sex of the remains could not be determined. No trauma was visible on the bones found, the report said, and the bones were “likely deposited at the scene during or after Jan. 22, 1924,” which it determined by a variety of factors, including decomposition, teeth and a dated newspaper found with the remains.
“Whether or not birth had occurred, and whether or not the infant was alive at birth cannot be determined from the skeletal remains,” the report said.
Klales said they will not be doing a DNA analysis on the remains.
Deputy Coroner David Truskowsky was on scene to remove the remains, which are now with the university after Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III donated them for study Sunday. Moylan said there were no next-of-kin that he could determine. Those who have information can call Moylan.
“I thought it was a very unique call for me, personally. I’ve never had a call like this before,” Truskowsky said Monday.
The cause and manner of death is undetermined, he said,
Along with two individuals from the Tamaqua Police Department, Truskowsky went to the scene. He found some floor boards removed and “a bankers box containing what looked like a very old sweater and the human remains of a baby,” he said.
A German newspaper from 1862 and an English one from 1924 were also found near the remains along with some clothing.
Edith Moyer, secretary for the Tamaqua Police Department, said Monday that Ralph Richardson found the remains. She said he called the Tamaqua Police Department at 7:23 p.m. Feb. 10 after he was pulling up the floor boards in the attic and noticed a cloth-like material. After he removed it, what looked like small bones fell out, Moyer said. She said the property is owned by Brenda Fredericks and is now one property at 239. The Online Schuylkill County Parcel Locator does not have a listing for 239 Clay St. but the 237 address is owned by Ralph and Megan Richardson. A woman who answered the phone at the 237 address, who did not provide her name, said the couple is aware of the remains.
“They really want to know the truth about the baby,” the woman said.
She said neither Megan nor Ralph were home when called. She cast doubt on the age of the baby.
“There is no way that baby is 100 years old,” she said.
Klales said the child could have been stillborn.
“A lot of things could go wrong without medical intervention,” Klales said.
She could not offer a reason to why someone would place the child where it was found. She said it was not uncommon in the 1920s for negative associations for stillborn children or out of wedlock births, if that is what happened to the child. This is not the first time she has encountered a child death. About eight years ago, someone found the remains of a child in a suitcase under a bed after a woman had passed away. She didn’t recall the location.
Moylan also said the case is sad and is one he did not encounter before.
“I’m just thinking this is one of life’s little tragedies,” he said.
The person who put the remains there knows why they did it, but that may never be known, Moylan said.
“The death was concealed. We can only guess what the motive for that might have been,” he said.
He said the smell from the remains probably would not have been that noticeable because of atmospheric conditions such as heat and where they were located.
“It wasn’t a large body. There wasn’t that much flesh to decay,” Moylan said.
He said Truskowsky did notice a lot of mothballs in the attic though that would mask the smell.
He said if there was a crime, he doesn’t have any proof.
Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine Holman said Monday she has not assigned anyone to investigate but urged those with information to call her at 570-628-1350.