Officials Plan to Cremate Preserved Fetus Found in Trash

Los Angeles County coroner’s officials said Tuesday that they plan to cremate a preserved male fetus found last week by a janitor who was rummaging through trash bins near downtown Los Angeles.

The janitor’s wife dropped off the fetus at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast Station Friday after her husband, who was not identified, brought it to the couple’s Sunland-Tujunga house, Detective Bill De Long said.

The janitor found the fetus in a Mason jar that had been placed in a flowerpot, De Long said. Coroner’s officials said the fetus had developed to an age of 4 1/2 months. No foul play was suspected, coroner’s spokesman Bob Dambacher said.

“It’s really not of any forensic value,” Dambacher said. “We’re not going any further on it.”

The fetus was preserved in a murky yellowish-brown liquid thought to be formaldehyde, De Long said. Based on the appearance of the jar, which had a rusty screw-on top, officials speculated that the specimen might be 40 to 50 years old.

The janitor’s wife told police that her husband couldn’t remember where he found the jar because he had rummaged through several dumpsters that day looking for discarded valuables in areas ranging from the mid-city area to Hollywood. Dambacher said the specimen may have been kept in a hospital or a science lab.

“We have found them in the past,” he said. “Most of them are medical specimens that have strayed.”

The woman told police that her husband had planned to keep the specimen. But after the couple’s daughter was told by her elementary school teacher to bring it to show and tell, the woman had a different idea, police said.

“The mom said ‘That’s it,’ ” and took it to the station near Dodger Stadium, said De Long, who investigated the find before turning it over to the coroner’s office.