Santeria priest charged with stealing 8 skeletons from Worcester's Hope Cemetery

By Lindsay Corcoran
MassLive
February 17, 2016

http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2016/02/santeria_priest_charged_with_s.html

Amador Medina lowered his head as he was arraigned in Worcester Central District Court in connection to the theft of five skeletons from Hope Cemetery in Worcester. Photo by Scott J. Croteau

WORCESTER – A Santeria priest has been indicted on nine charges of disinterment of a body in the theft of skeletons from Worcester's Hope Cemetery last year.

Amador Medina, 32, of 245 Preston St., Apt. 2, Hartford, was indicted by a Worcester County grand jury on Wednesday in thefts from two mausoleum's last year.

Medina had been arrested and charged in district court last December in connection with the theft of five skeletons from the Houghton-family mausoleum. He was held on $100,000 bail.

Police later discovered an additional three skeletons missing from another mausoleum in the cemetery. The ninth disinterment charge comes from a sixth casket opened in the Houghton-family mausoleum. 

Medina is now facing the disinterment charges, as well as two counts of injuring a tomb, grave or memorial, two counts of breaking and entering and two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime. The indictments move his case to Worcester Superior Court.

According to court records, Medina told investigators he paid someone else to steal the remains.

Medina allegedly admitted to authorities that he used the remains to practice Santeria, a religion that contains some aspects of Catholicism and West African religions. He was later stripped of his priesthood.