NEW SOUTH WALES: The Newcastle community is horrified after the discovery of human body parts, including 2 legs, at a local rubbish tip.
The Summerhill Waste Management Centre became the centre of a murder investigation on Tuesday, 16 February 2016, after a random inspection of an area of the tip uncovered the disturbing find.
7 News revealed on Wednesday the body parts had been surgically removed and dumped with garbage instead of being dispose of properly.
The gruesome find discovered by a shocked council inspector apparently included a left and right leg cut below the knee. The parts were buried for up to six weeks, suggesting that they could have come from a cadaver.
Homicide detectives were called to the site along with a forensic pathologist who determined the amputation was done by a professional.
Also found were viles of blood and bio-hazard bags, all of which should have been incinerated. Lorraine Long from the Medical Error Action Group said she was shocked but not surprised.
“This is hospital management for you at its best,” she told 7 News.
“No system, don’t care. But the point of all of this is, no respect for the dead.”
The Wallsend tip was business as usual on Wednesday as NSW health authorities scrambled to find the contractor responsible.
Shadow Health Minister Walt Secord told 7 News the situation was ‘absolutely unacceptable’.
“There has to be an investigation by the state government… we must always remember these human remains belong to loved ones.”
The investigation is expected to be lengthy, but DNA testing could be a way of identifying the remains.