Ex-Funeral Director Withdraws Guilty Plea In Fetus Garage CasePOSTED: 12:30 pm EDT September 6,
2007 PITTSBURGH -- A former McKeesport funeral director charged with abuse of a corpse in connection with the remains of 19 fetuses found in the garage of his former home in 2005 has withdrawn his guilty plea and will head to trial.As part of the deal, Robert Winston was expected to plead guilty to one count of theft by deception and one count of abuse of a corpse on Thursday, but he changed his mind and did not take the deal.He was originally charged with one count of theft by deception and 20 counts of abuse of a corpse."The plea has been withdrawn," said Winston's attorney, Jim Ecker. "We'll come back another day. That's all there is."Police said Winston had a contract with Magee-Womens Hospital to arrange to have more than 300 fetuses found in his former garage cremated.The fetuses ranged from 14 weeks to full-term and resulted from abortions, miscarriages and stillbirths."My baby was full-term, and then I get a phone call five years later that my baby is in a garage," said shaken mother Shannon Dooley. "In my eyes, he is disgusting."Police said Winston told them he was having financial trouble. Police said they believe he took the hospital's money but kept the fetuses.There is no word on a trial date at this time. Related Links: More County NewsGet RSS | E-Mail Alerts Copyright 2008 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |











