Reliving the pain

Janet Mrzlack's Christian faith sustained her through eight miscarriages in six years and allowed the South Side woman to garner the strength to move on, finally adopting two children.

But Mrzlack's peace with the past was shattered this week when she learned that more than 300 fetuses were discovered in the McKeesport garage of a home once owned by Robert B. Winston Jr.

Winston, a former funeral director, had a contract to handle the cremation of fetal remains for Magee-Womens Hospital from 1999 to 2002, during which Mrzlack suffered six miscarriages at the Oakland hospital.

Mrzlack kept baptismal certificates from the hospital after each of her failed pregnancies. Now she fears the remains of her unborn children might be among those discovered.

"These babies have no resting place because their souls are in limbo,'' Mrzlack said Wednesday. "I accepted what happened, and I moved forward.

"But now I'm right back there, reliving the pain. It just breaks my heart. Even if these babies are found not to be mine, they're someone else's. No one deserves that.''

Allegheny County Coroner Cyril H. Wecht said his office is in the middle of the "major undertaking'' of attempting to identify the remains found in the detached garage at 1830 Evans St.

Wecht said once the remains are identified, the coroner's office will hold a memorial service for families.

"We're mindful that this is very upsetting and emotional for a lot of people,'' Wecht said. "We've had a lot of calls from women and families who fear their fetuses may be those found, and we want to have a thorough, complete, meticulous investigation before we contact any of the families. We aren't going to do a piecemeal investigation.''

Mrzlack is one of the women who called Wecht's office. Until the truth is known, she and her husband, Joe, said they'll concentrate on their adopted 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son and hope for the best news possible. The couple adopted the children in 2001 after learning that Janet Mrzlack suffers from lupus, an autoimmune disease that contributed to her miscarriages.

"I guess we just sit back and wait for the phone to ring,'' she said. "I have to believe that God will take the spirits and souls of those babies and send them on to a new life.''

The remains, contained in plastic biohazard bags with preserving fluid and placed in 27 stacked cardboard boxes, are of fetuses and embryos from stillbirths, abortions and miscarriages. Many of the bags are labeled with autopsy case numbers, Wecht said, and cremation authorization paperwork is attached to many of the boxes.

"A small number of these remains have no identification information with them, and that's a problem that may not be a solvable one,'' Wecht said. "There's a very real possibility that we may never identify those remains.''

Winston is cooperating with the coroner's investigation, his attorney, James Ecker, said. No charges have been filed, but authorities have said they are considering charges such as abuse of a corpse.

County police are awaiting the coroner's findings before moving forward, officials said.

Wecht has subpoenaed Winston's contract with Magee, along with paperwork from the hospital and from Ross-based Pittsburgh Cremation Service, which handled some cremations for Winston between 1999 and 2002, said owner Fred Donatelli Jr.

Winston was director of the now-defunct Newman-Winston Memorial Chapel in McKeesport. The Pennsylvania State Board of Funeral Directors suspended Winston's license in March 2004 for three years and he was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine for "aiding and assisting the unlicensed practice of funeral directing and failing to report pre-need contracts'' to the board, according to the Department of State, which oversees professional licensing.

Magee spokeswoman Michelle D. Baum said the hospital is cooperating with authorities and had no further comment.