AN INVESTIGATION is under way after a fully-preserved six-month-old foetus was found in a jar at a building site in Cheshire.
Construction workers made the gruesome discovery in the grounds of Hollybank Veterinary Centre on Chester Road in Sandiway last week. And tests have revealed the 10-inch-long body, which weighs just 1.5lbs, has been buried since the early 1970s.
Cheshire Police spokeswoman Shelley Williams said the remains were unearthed at 1.50pm on Tuesday, March 31. It is thought the body was preserved in a form of formaldehyde. But Det Sgt Mike Beamish, of Northwich CID, said police have ruled out foul play.
He told The Chronicle: “The remains were that of a female foetus that had been preserved in a jar, and police believe that it may have been used in the past as part of a medical exhibit.
“The foetus has been examined by forensic pathologists and is thought to have been in the ground for more than thirty years. There are no suspicious circumstances and no criminal offences have been disclosed.”
Police say they are “seeking advice” from a coroner over what to do with the body, and a paediatric pathologist has taken a sample of muscle tissue for DNA testing, in an attempt to identify any next of kin.
