Amputated legs at waste management facility are from two different people
There is a grisly new twist in the discovery of two amputated human legs that were found on Tuesday at a Newcastle rubbish tip.
A forensic pathologist said the left and right legs have come from two different people, Newcastle Herald reports.
It hasn't been determined if they are of the same gender.
A random inspection at an area of the tip at Summerhill Waste Management Centre uncovered the disturbing find which has come the centre of a murder investigation.
The gruesome find was discovered by a shocked council inspector who apparently found the two legs sticking out of a pile of garbage.
7 News revealed on Wednesday the body parts had been surgically removed by a professional and dumped with garbage instead of being dispose of properly.
The parts were buried for up to six weeks, suggesting they they could have come from a cadaver.
Also found were viles of blood and bio-hazard bags, all of which should have been incinerated.
The EPA said in a statement they will continue to work with public and private health services to establish where the legs had come from.
“We are looking into a number of possible scenarios at this stage of the investigation, including establishing the chain of disposal the body parts went through prior to ending up in the landfill,’’ the statement said.
The EPA also said the waste must be transported in a safe and secure container and not left unattended when it is being disposed of and this type of waste needs a special type of license to store and dispose of the clinical waste.
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.
With up to 700 tonnes dumped here daily, it will be difficult to get the bottom of the error and determine whether it was an innocent mistake or a blatant lack of respect.
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.
Authorities will look into security cameras located at the tip to find out who is responsible.
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