Fetus Thrown Into Trash; Charges Weighed Against CA Funeral Contractor

LIDO, CA — Prosecutors will decide whether to file charges against a transport service contractor who police said threw out a fetus that was in a container at a funeral home in Lodi.

Police were called to Cherokee Memorial Park and Funeral Home on Saturday afternoon after staffers said a fetus was missing from their storage area, police said.

Officers reviewed video footage and found that two weeks earlier, a transport service contractor threw a container with the fetus inside into a waste container, police said. All waste containers were since emptied and taken away by trash collectors.

Investigators search for the fetus at a landfill Sunday, but didn't find the remains. Detectives questioned the involved workers.

The San Joaquin District Attorney’s Office will determine if any criminal charges will be filed.

A spokesman for the Lodi Police Department told Patch they don't know the approximate age of the fetus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a miscarriage is usually defined as loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, while a stillbirth is loss of a baby at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.