A discovery of suspected human bones in a house being demolished in West Newton early Tuesday drew a myriad of investigators, though it was soon determined there was no crime involved.
“There’s nothing suspicious and no foul play is suspected,” Westmoreland County Chief Deputy Coroner Kirk E. Nolan said of the discovery in the basement of the house on the 200 block of North Second Street.
“There are some Native American burial grounds in that area, and a former homeowner used to go for hikes and pick up items he found during his walks and put them in his basement,” Nolan said.
Borough police Chief Gary Indof and Nolan said photographs of the bones were sent to Dennis Dirkmaat, a professor of forensic anthropology at Mercyhurst University in Erie. He analyzed them and determined that they are more than a century old.
“I understand the house being demolished was built around 1890, and all of these remains even pre-date that. So, there’s no foul play and it’s not suspicious,” Nolan said.
Indof said he received a call about 9 a.m. from a man sorting through the building rubble and contacted county detectives, who sent a forensic team. He estimated the collection could fill a “small grocery bag.”
“I’m very happy it turned out to be nothing suspicious,” Indof said.
The county forensics team confiscated the items, officials said.
