Foetus found in school turns out to be vegetable matter

An analysis has determined that a suspected 7-week-old foetus discovered in a stairwell at Southmoreland High School was some sort of "vegetable matter and not human remains," according to forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht of Pittsburgh. "I can't be further specific," said Wecht. He notified the Westmoreland County Coroner's office of his finding earlier this week.

State police at Greensburg and the coroner's office were summoned by district officials to the school in Alverton after a female custodian discovered the material in a stairwell near a girl's lavatory on the evening of May 19. She became concerned because she had earlier found blood in a toilet in a girls restroom. School officials contacted state police and the state Department of Health.

Superintendent John Halfhill said he learned of Wecht's findings on Thursday. "The coroner's office notified us that Dr. Cyril Wecht had investigated the material and found it was some kind of vegetable-based material," Halfhill said. "Unfortunately, a lot of conclusions were jumped to before confirmation was made."

Wecht said he couldn't be sure of the exact origin of the material because that would require too many unnecessary tests. "The important thing is that it is not human foetal tissue," Wecht said.