Slatina authorities investigate discovery of human remains in cemetery

Authorities in Slatina, Romania, have launched a criminal investigation following the discovery of human remains at the Strehareți Cemetery. During maintenance work conducted after the city administration took over the cemetery's management, workers uncovered raffia bags containing hundreds of human bones and undecomposed corpses.

Slatina Mayor Mario De Mezzo stated that the remains include individuals who died during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the bags used appeared to be the specific type utilized during that period. The Mayor alleged that the former cemetery administrator improperly disposed of the remains in mass pits, potentially for financial gain.

Police have sealed the area and seized the remains, which have been transported to the National Institute of Legal Medicine (INML) for forensic examination. A criminal case for the desecration of corpses or graves has been opened to determine the origin of the remains and the circumstances of their disposal. The former administrator has contested the allegations.