Connecticut Priest Arrested After Stealing The Skeletal Remains Of Three Adults, Two Children From A Cemetery To Practice Santeria

A Connecticut priest was arrested Friday after police officials discovered the skeletal remains of three adults and two children in his apartment home, according to NBC Connecticut. After several reports about a man storing human remains in his apartment were made, Connecticut police arrived at the home of Amador Medina, 32, at 245 Preston Street Apt. 2 where he admitted to storing bodies in his home to practice his religion: Santeria – “an Afro-Cuban religion that originated in West Africa.”

The priest invited the police into his home to show them where he stored the skeletal remains upon their arrival. According to officers at the scene, some of the bones were taken apart and scattered throughout his apartment. Most of the bones were well intact, secured in a trash bag with the top ripped off to expose the skulls. Medina informed police officials that he was using the bones as a component of a healing ritual, but those who are familiar with the religion stated that only animal bones are used during the ritual.

“Human bones are not involved at any level,” said Imna Arroyo, a professor at the Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic. “When people don’t understand something, you don’t know the details unfortunately puts it in a very negative light. You can take the same animal and say to the animal thank you so much for giving me your energy because it is through this eating you that I can grow. You give me strength and I appreciate your life because you are giving me life.”

“He [Medina] is a practicing Santeria priest, which is a religion in some Latino communities that you see. It’s rarely seen actually,” said Hartford Police Deputy Chief Brian Foley. “The bones or the remains of the skeletal remains that were taken from the cemetery are used in this religion for medicinal purposes. The age of the deceased as well as how long they have been deceased is relevant in how they use those remains in their medicinal value.”

Medina could have easily purchased animal bones online to use in the ritual as there are many companies that sell them, including eBay. But he opted to steal five skeletal remains from a cemetery, belonging to three adults and two children who could have possiblly died a century ago, according to the Huffington Post.

Man charged with stealing bones from Worcester cemetery for Santeria ordered held on bail. https://t.co/o1T09spD9x pic.twitter.com/KR149p9UY3

— WBZ Boston News (@cbsboston) December 8, 2015

Medina was arrested and charged with “five counts of disinterment of bodies, conspiracy to commit a crime, and accessory before the fact.” His arraignment was held on Monday where he confessed to hiring another man – whose name is not listed in court documents — to steal five skeletal remains at Houghton family mausoleum at Hope Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts, that was built in 1903.

On October 9, Worcester police responded to a call about a break-in at Hope Cemetery where five bodies were reported missing. Officials made several attempts to contact the family members of the deceased, but were unsuccessful as the last person to be laid to rest at the cemetery was 71 years ago.

Local residents were stunned to uncover that the priest was storing human remains in his apartment. One Hartford resident, Jose Mercedes, said that it was “Kind of crazy” and “Kind of creepy, yeah.” He added that he would often see the priest in the area, dressed in all white “Like one of those people who do voodoo and type stuff like that but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

When the priest made his first court appearance at the Hartford Superior Court, he agreed to travel back to Worcester to face five counts of “disinterment of bodies, as well as charges of conspiracy and breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony.”

He is currently being held at the county jail.

[Image via Hartford Police Department]