Police reportedly recover remains from 1800s in Schenectady

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Schenectady Police Department confirmed that detectives conducted an investigation on Monday regarding the recovery of human remains. Police stated that the remains were reported by crews working on a vacant lot on Westover Place.

According to Schenectady Police, the remains are believed to be from the 1800s and were found, “disturbed from an iron casket”.

“At this point, we’ve discovered that the remains are inside what appears to be an iron casket, maybe from the 1800s or so,” said Detective Lieutenant Bradley Carlton.

New York was one of only four states that did not protect unmarked burial sites. That was until 2023, when the state’s Unmarked Burial Ground Protection Act was enacted. 

The law requires construction to come to a halt upon discovery of an unmarked grave. Archaeologists get involved if the remains are identified to be more than 50 years old.

63-year-old James Scott has lived in the neighborhood his whole life and he remembers when human remains were discovered in the area in the 70s.

“The whole area was a cemetery. And so, when they found that people were taking home parts because they were, like it was something like trophies at that time, with the skulls and everything. And at that time, the laws were different. So, they didn’t come at you for it because they knew what was going on. But now this is different and it’s 2025 and we’re going to see what’s going on down there,” said Scott.

Officers secured the area while the investigation remains underway. The scene is no longer considered a crime scene as detectives deemed the circumstances to not be suspicious.