Criminal case after the discovery of bags containing possible human remains and a coffin at the Strehareți cemetery in Slatina

Police in Olt County opened a new criminal case on Monday for desecration of corpses and graves after several black bags and a coffin hidden behind a false wall were discovered in the basement of the chapel at Strehareți Cemetery in Slatina. The contents of the bags have not been officially confirmed because the wall has not yet been removed.

The discovery was made during sanitation work. Employees noticed a hole in a wall and used a video camera to inspect the pipes, identifying a coffin and between three and five bags in the hidden space. Mayor Mario De Mezzo said the bags could contain human remains. The mayor called 112, and police began their investigation.

The Olt County Police Inspectorate (IPJ Olt) said this was a separate case because the location differs from those investigated previously. In September, bags containing human remains were found in two other areas of the cemetery, and investigators opened a criminal case.

The mayor said the municipality does not have the documents concerning exhumations and reburials carried out by the former private administrator, who was evicted at the beginning of September. The cemetery then returned to the administration of Slatina City Hall after 16 years under concession. Checks are being carried out to establish the origin of the remains and the circumstances in which they were hidden.