PMCAMBRIDGEHUMANREMAINS.mp3

Police have a person in custody in connection to the discovery of human remains found in a duffel bag in Kendal Square in Cambridge on Saturday. The suspect is expected to be arraigned Monday in Medford.

Here’s what we know: A red duffel bag stuffed with body parts was found at 7:45 AM on a pedestrian path near Biogen—just yards from Cambridge Police headquarters. 

“It’s a common  walkway that runs between Binney Street and Broadway," said Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas.

“And it was pushed off to the side near a fence.  And what happened is that security at a local building notified us of a suspicious package.  We checked the package.  Made sure that it wasn’t a bomb, which is what our initial inclination was, and once we were satisfied that’s when we opened the bag and found the remains.” 

Cambridge police began canvassing the neighborhood, which is close to MIT.  Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan says surveillance cameras played a key role in tracking down a suspect:

“Video surveillance directed them to 167 Sixth Street. Later this afternoon additional human remains were found in a common area of that building.   We do at this point have one person under arrest.  That person is charged with accessory after the crime, of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, and improper disposal of human remains.”

But we know neither the name of the suspect nor the victim and whether the deceased is male or female.  We also have no information on the motive, but police are confident that it was not a random crime, and Commissioner Haas says that the community is safe at this point and time.