Skeletal remains in May Pen Cemetery to be re-interred

The Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department has been called in to address the situation at the May Pen Cemetery on Spanish Town Road in Kingston where numerous skeletal remains have been found strewn across the grounds.

The announcement was made Thursday night by Desmond McKenzie, Mayor of Kingston.

He said starting this weekend; an exercise will be carried out at the cemetery to gather the remains.

Arrangements will then be made to re-inter them.

“We’re going to ensure that steps are taken to immediately deal with it. It is problem that is real which we have to deal with as quickly as possible,” Mr. McKenzie said.

Cadaver dogs from the United States discovered the remains on Wednesday during a search of sections of the cemetery.

Several West Kingston residents involved in the clearing of overgrown foliage in the cemetery say they too have stumbled on numerous skeletal remains over the past two weeks.

The Police High Command is to meet with officials of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, the Superintendent in charge of the May Pen Cemetery and the Health Ministry to discuss the matter.

Better security for the cemetery

And with the May Pen Cemetery continuing to be plagued by security problems Mayor McKenzie said the time has come to deal decisively with the breakdown in order at the 200 acre property which is often used as a haven for criminals.

According to him, discussions will take place with the security forces on new measures which will see the cemetery being better monitored and supervised.

“Security is a major problem of this vast area. I don’t know if any such efforts have ever been made but since there are concerns, I am awaiting a letter from the security forces which they said they have sent to me and when we meet, we can extend those discussions to see how much assistance we can get from them along that line,” Mr. McKenzie said.