BERN TOWNSHIP., Pa – “It’s almost like they’re dying a second time,” said Berks County Coroner Matt Stitzel.
It’s a tall task for any coroner’s office.
“From the coroner’s perspective, our first job is to identify those remains, again. So now, we’re identifying them again for folks that have already grieved, already buried. Now we have this second stage of, we found your loved one, again,” said Stitzel.
The new Berks County Coroner is reacting to the ongoing investigation involving an Ephrata, Lancaster County man who police say broke into multiple crypts and mausoleums in a Delaware County cemetery and stole bones and human remains that he tried to sell online.
“This particular case seems like bones are separated, skulls are separated, bodies are separated. So, it’s giving back the accurate bones to the right family so they can be reinterred at the cemetery,” he said.
It’s a case that crosses county lines, and Stitzel says departments can work in tandem to pool resources.
“Manpower, equipment trailers, temporary morgues, all that stuff can get pulled from around the state. It’s certain levels that hit every time, so we’re gonna hit this first marker, get past this, then our regional marker,” Stitzel said.
A strange case, but one that neighboring offices can keep an eye on to learn and continue to prepare for what they might encounter in a complex field.
“Probably the empathy side of it. Being able to sit down with families, identify which graves have been taken advantage of,” Stitzel added.