POCATELLO, Idaho (CBS2) — Idaho State University on Thursday said the fetuses found at a Pocatello funeral home were once donated to the university as part of a decades-old biology study on fetal development.
The fetuses were returned to Downard Funeral Home for cremation in April 2017, the university says, and school leaders say they did not know the fetuses were never cremated by Downard.
ISU says its relationship with the funeral home ended in May 2020.
"An internal audit last fall of all records and dealings with Downard Funeral Home indicated multiple causes for concern," ISU said.
The university says it filed formal complaints with the Bannock County Prosecutor's Office and with Pocatello Police. The police department continues working to identify remains of several deceased individuals.
Also on Thursday, the Pocatello Police Department released descriptions of six individuals who have yet to be identified.
Subject No. 2
Adult male approximately mid-60s to early-70s at the time of his passing. The male has an average build. Male has a white/grey mustache, short white beard stubble, balding with white hair, and thick, dark eyebrows. He was wearing a maroon t-shirt with a front left breast pocket. He was wrapped in a dark blue sheet around his back and had a red, white, and black plaid fleece blanket around his legs. He also has gold teeth/fillings on his upper rear molars. The male may have been in hospice care at the time of his passing. It is estimated that he has been at the facility for approximately 30 to 60 days.
Subject No. 3
Adult male approximately early to mid-60s at the time of his passing. The tale has a white beard with salt & pepper short hair with a full head of hair. The male is barrel-chested and appears to have a large frame. He was wearing a long-sleeve blue t-shirt with three buttons at the collar and a left breast pocket. He was wearing black athletic pants and had on a green non-slip sock on the left foot and a red non-slip sock on the right foot. He was wrapped in a blue/teal pattern fitted bed sheet and a white, grey, and red knitted Christmas-type blanket. He also had a pillow below his head that had a blue pillowcase with penguins and polar bears in Santa hats. The male may have been in hospice care at the time of his passing. It is estimated that he has been at the facility since late November 2020 to early January 2021.
Subject No. 6
Believed to be an adult female in the 70s to 80s at the time of their passing. Subject has white hair approximately to the collar and was only wearing a blue, purple, green, and red plaid button-up collared long sleeve shirt. The time estimation on this subject is unknown due to the circumstances. The subject may have been in hospice care at the time of their passing. Subject appears to have their upper teeth, with a slightly crooked upper front right incisor that protrudes further than the left incisor. The subject has a very thin build and appeared to be shorter.
Subject No. 7
Adult female approximately late 50s to early 60s at the time of her passing. The female is of average build and has dyed red hair that was in a bun on top of her head, but growing grey roots. The female had obvious tooth decay, and her upper front teeth are very short and dark-colored. Female was wearing a pink button-up pajama top with long sleeves that had “Sweet Cat” printed on it with images of grey and black cartoon cats. The female did not have pants on. She was wearing white socks with purple toes and heels, and “U-R AMAZING” in pink letters. The female may have been in hospice care at the time of her passing. It is estimated that she had been at the facility for a few days before 9/3/2021.
Subject No. 9
Adult male approximately late 30s to early 40s at the time of his passing. The male is approximately 6’0” tall with an athletic body type, brown hair with slight greying, and had a well-groomed beard. The male appears to have been embalmed and had on make-up for a viewing and/or a funeral service. He was wearing a white long sleeve t-shirt and blue jeans. He has three distinct tattoos; one on the back of his neck that is a sun with sunbursts, one on his left side with a black bull with red eyes and blue lightning bolts surrounding it, and a Rottweiler dog sitting on a pile of skulls on his right calf. Based on the circumstances, it is unknown how long he has been at the facility due to the embalming process.
Subject No. 9
Adult female approximately 60s to 70s at the time of her passing. The female was bald and had a curly dark grey wig. She had pink acrylic or press-on fingernails and was wearing a long pink pajama shirt with a screen print of a bear holding a coffee cup, wearing pink bunny slippers that had “I’m a BEAR in the morning” printed on the front. She had a medical port on her chest that was purple. The female may have been in hospice care at the time of her passing. It is estimated that she had been at the facility for approximately 2 weeks before 9/3/2021.
If you have particular information that one of these subjects may be one of your loved ones, or if you are a hospice care worker that has information about any of these individuals, please contact the Pocatello Police Department at 208-234-6121 or the Bannock County Coroner’s Office at 208-236-7377.
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