Human Skeletal Remains Uncovered at Manhattan Cemetery Site

Construction workers excavating a Manhattan garden on Thursday unearthed human skeletal remains at a former mid-19th-century cemetery site, according to the NYPD and police sources. The discovery has prompted law enforcement and the city’s medical examiner to investigate the origin of the bones.

The remains were found beneath a layer of brick about five feet underground. Investigators are now working to determine whether the bones are linked to the historical burials that once occupied the property before the construction of the church.

Discovery at the West Village Site

The incident unfolded at about 11 a.m. on Thursday when crew members were digging in the backyard of a former church rectory house in Manhattan’s West Village. The workers were preparing to build a garden behind the converted private townhouse formerly owned by St. John’s Lutheran Church on Christopher Street near Seventh Avenue when they made the find.

Upon arriving at the scene, police officers found what seemed to be a partial backbone and a skull fragment positioned under the bricks. Originally operating for about four decades prior to the founding of the church in 1860, a 19th-century cemetery occupied the plot where St. John’s Lutheran Church is currently located. The adjacent rectory was sold in 2015.

Ongoing Investigation

Although the grounds were excavated and bodies removed before the church’s construction, investigators suspect the remains uncovered Thursday may have been left behind from an old burial plot. Law enforcement sources stated that investigators are actively probing the historic connection to the land.

Authorities reported that the remains will be analyzed by the city’s Office of the Medical Examiner to figure out the manner and cause of passing.