Detroit police investigating skeletal remains found in vacant apartment building
Police work to identify skeletal remains in Detroit
Sources say a contractor doing renovation work found either all or part of a human skeleton in a vacant apartment building just before 11 this morning. It happened on South Clarendon where it meets Northfield around I-96 and Joy Road on the city’s west side.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Police in Detroit are working to identify skeletal remains found by a contractor in a vacant apartment building.
What they're saying:
Sources say a contractor doing renovation work found either all or part of a human skeleton in the apartment building just before 11 a.m. Wednesday morning.
It happened on South Clarendon where it meets Northfield around I-96 and Joy Road on the city’s west side.
That worker called the police, and they stopped by to check it out. It’s been a huge shock to neighbors.
"It’s surprising because we’ve seen them working on this building the last 18, 19 months, putting windows in, back door open, front door open and no clue, no clue at all how long they’ve been in there. Now that’s the question right there," said neighbor Lewis Calhoun.
Skeletal remains found in vacant Detroit apartment building
Contractors renovating an apartment building on Detroit's west side made a gruesome discovery, and police are working to identify the remains.
FOX 2 also spoke with a former Detroit Police assistant chief about how these cases are investigated. But first we hear from members of the neighborhood.
"You get a forensic pathologist out there," said Ret. Assistant Chief Steve Dolunt. "Try to determine if it’s a full skeleton. Determine if it’s a man or woman. Do carbon testing to see the age of the bones, see if there’s any fracture. Was this person murdered? Died of natural causes? Forensic pathology will figure that out."
Dig deeper:
The part about police checking missing persons reports whenever human remains are found is a big process.
"Unfortunately, people get their hopes up a little too high," said Dolunt. "I think it might be my husband, my wife, my son, my daughter. Until the carbon testing comes back to determine the age and the sex, you don’t know. If there’s a scull and teeth, do a dental record to try to compare to any missing.
"So they’ve got their work cut out for them."