By Casey Nolen
Hannibal, MO (KSDK) - A grim discovery in the basement of an historic home has people in Hannibal, Missouri looking for answers.
Just about everyone knows Hannibal has its history. But what no one here can say for sure is what lies in the past of an old home at the corner of 6th and Church Street.
On Tuesday Jennifer Haynes and her husband, Gary, ended up in the basement of the empty home, trying to chase away a stray cat. Gary was fixing up the old house so the owner can sell it.
"It was like a brown jar about this big around," said Gary.
The Haynes say when they couldn't find the cat, curiosity lead to looking around.
"You know I just couldn't look at it. Perfectly clear, I knew what it was and I wanted to get out of here," said Jennifer.
In a home video they shared with Quincy, Illinois television station KHQA, the Haynes went back and recorded what they couldn't believe they'd found; two old jars, each with a human fetus inside.
"It's just kind of creeping me out. Just the thought of it. And seeing it," said Jennifer.
The Marion County Coroner estimates the fetuses were 20 and 28 weeks old, well preserved in jars dating back about 70 years. He says they are intact, with no signs of trauma.
"Just where did they come from? What happened to the mother of them? You know," said Jennifer.
The owner of the home says he remembers his parents telling stories of other gruesome discoveries, left behind by the doctor who worked out of the home in the 1950s. But says he has no answers to the mystery the Haynes have uncovered.
Theories range from evidence of a clinic to remnants of research says Lisa Marks with the Hannibal History Museum.
There are some n Hannibal who not only want answers, but an investigation.
The Hannibal Police Department says given how long the jars have been in the house, the fact that the house has changed owners and the fact that just about everyone associated with the previous practice is deceased, there's nothing for them to investigate and now case to open.
A local funeral home, cemetery, and monument company have all made donations to give the two fetuses a burial and memorial service in Hannibal.
KSDK