Coroner: An outside forensic anthropologist will help identify remains

Coroner: An outside forensic anthropologist will help identify remains

By RENEE FOX

Tribune Chronicle

WARREN ä The county coroner will be seeking some outside help from an experienced forensic anthropologist to identify the human remains discovered in an empty East Market Street building Thursday.

âWe are the very beginning of this investigation, and we are dealing with mostly skeletal remains,ã Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk said Friday. âA forensic anthropologist has more experience with this state of decay and can see things that would be hidden to you, or even me.ã

The first step in the investigation is to determine height, weight, race and sex, Germaniuk said. That information will be used to compare against a list of missing people in the area, helping investigators narrow the identification effort. Next, the examiner will look for any signs of trauma and determine what significance the evidence has.

Germaniuk said he is familiar with a few expert forensic anthropologists from his time as a medical examiner in Washington, D.C.; the remains will be transported to a facility in the capitol after an arrangement is reached.

City detectives are also investigating the case that begin when Keith and Kyle Bickel were checking for asbestos at two vacant properties. The remains were found in 540 E. Market St., purchased with 528 E. Market St. by Sunrise Inn owner Ken Haidaris at the beginning of this month for $35,900 from Kathleen Zamarelli in a sheriffás sale.

Haidaris had hired the Bickels, father and son contractors, through Don Walters of Walters Paving in Warren, to inspect the property for asbestos. Although the plans havenát been finalized, Haidaris said he is thinking about building a patio for his restaurant.

Keith, 52, and Kyle, 25, had finished inspecting the other building and the business area of 540 E. Market St., when Kyle noticed something in a pile of insulation. He kicked some debris out of the way and was shocked to discover what looked like a hand bone, he said on the phone Friday.

Kyle called his father over and, after examining it, realized it was probably human. Keith called Walters and after looking at it together they called police and went upstairs, looking to see if there were any other remains.

âThere is this kind of overhang in the front of the building that creates about a 2-foot gap between the plaster (inside wall) and the roof,ã Keith Bickel said. âInside a closet, just above where the arm was, there was caulking around a board covering that little cubby hole between the wall and roof.ã

The skeletal remains were in that space. Keith said the deceased appeared to have been wearing a red and white plaid shirt, it was in tatters. If there were any other items of clothing, the items may have decomposed. Keith said he could see the deceasedás pelvic bone.

Keith said the whole house had a stench to it, as most vacant buildings do, but there were dirty dishes and âjunkã around the apartment. The house seemed to have been occupied as recently as five or six months ago, Keith said.

Kyle said the discovery was, âshocking, like something you might see on T.V.ã

rfox@tribtoday.com