FRAGMENTS of human bone found in the cellar of a former children`s home on the Channel Island of Jersey are believed to be the remains of children who were murdered, dismembered and cremated in a fireplace, police say.
The remains, which include children`s teeth, were found during an excavation of underground rooms where former residents claim they were physically and sexually abused, Britain`s The Times newspaper reports.
Some fragments show signs of having been cut up and burnt, the report said, citing the detective leading the investigation.
The Haut de la Garenne home, shut down in 1983, is at the centre of the investigation into abuse spanning a period of more than three decades. More than 160 people have come forward to claim they were abused at the home.
Speaking outside the home yesterday, Deputy Chief Officer Lenny Harper said a total of 30 bone fragments and some teeth had been found in one of the cellars.
"Of the six teeth we have sent to the UK, five of these would not be able to come out naturally before death. Only one shows signs of decay. The rest have so much root attached they could not have come out naturally," The Times quoted Deputy Chief Officer Harper as saying.
"Experts say that they have come out of more than one mouth.
He said some of the bone fragments showed evidence of being cut as well as burnt, he said.
"A lot of bones appear to have some degree of burning to them," he said.
"A number were found in and around where we believe was a fireplace in the cellar area."
The bones would now undergo scientific examination to determine their age and the age of the child or children they may have come from.
Police searching the cellars, which had been sealed up, have found a blood-stained concrete bath and iron shackles that supported some of the accounts of victims.
A network of four underground chambers have now been investigated after a police sniffer dog indicated the presence of human remains, The Times report said.
On a wooden post in one of the rooms thought to have been used to imprison children was scrawled the message "I`ve been bad for years and years".
Police revealed yesterday that the number of people suspected of involvement in child abuse has increased from 40 to 70, although so far only one man has been arrested in connection with Haut de la Garenne.
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