Skeletons at House Date to Early 1900s

A pair of skeletons found by police at a local home are the remains of two men who lived in the early 1900s, authorities said Monday.

The bones--bolted together with wiring and wing nuts--may have been used in decades past as education tools, Anaheim Police Sgt. Steve Sain said.

Investigators found the skeletons in separate coffins at a house during a search last week in connection with an ongoing embezzlement investigation, Sain said.

The skeletons were among the curious discoveries at a home in the 500 block of Colorado Street, where investigators found a bag that contained human ashes and six caskets, Sain said. Police visited the home after an Anaheim mortuary reported that a former employee may have stolen items, Sain said.

Police initially left open the possibility that the macabre items might be remnants of violent crime of some sort, but a coroner’s investigation has made that seem highly unlikely, Sain said.

The embezzlement investigation broadened over the weekend with the related discovery of five more caskets at sites in Anaheim, Santa Ana and Buena Park, Sain said. Most or all of the caskets appear to have been stolen, and all are believed to have been from the same mortuary, Sain said. Police have not identified the business.

Investigators estimated the recovered items have a value of $25,000 to $30,000.

“This does not appear to be some big conspiracy,” Sain said, adding that police believe one suspect is responsible for the alleged thefts.

No arrest is imminent in the grand theft investigation, Sain said, and police are also reviewing health codes to see if the cremated human remains discovered at the Anaheim home might be a violation of law.