Bazetta chief: Authorities view discovery of remains as a homicide

BAZETTA — Authorities are treating the discovery of human skeletal remains Saturday night in Bazetta Township as a homicide, Bazetta Police Chief Charles W. Sayers reported today.

About 6:45 p.m., police received an anonymous phone call from someone walking along Geauga-Portage Easterly Road who said they found what was believed to be human remains.

The remains were located in a ditch, on the south side of the road.

Officers responded and found decomposed remains inside black plastic garbage bags. Approximately 1.5 miles of Geauga-Portage Easterly Road was closed until 11 a.m. today while investigators processed the crime scene.

Police canvassed the neighborhood for clues. According to some neighbors, black plastic garbage bags were seen lying in the ditch for some time.

It is not uncommon for people to illegally dump garbage in this neighborhood because it is a remote area that is not heavily traveled, police said.

There were no foul odors or any indications to make people believe that the bags contained anything else other than garbage. Investigators were unable to determine how long the remains were in the ditch.

The remains are in such a state of decomposition that it makes immediate identification as to identity, race, and gender difficult, police said.

The only confirmed fact is that the remains are definitely human. The cause of death remains undetermined at this time; however, the remains will be examined by a forensic pathologist and anthropologist to reveal more details.

There have been no recent reports of local missing people that could provide aid in identifying the remains, Sayers said.

The remains were taken to the Trumbull County Morgue for a more detailed examination.

The case is being treated as a homicide and the investigation continues. There is no apparent connection between this case and the case of remains found near Mosquito Lake in 2006, police said. However, it is too premature to make any definite conclusions, they added.

The investigation is being conducted by the Bazetta Police, Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department and the Trumbull County Coroner.