A disturbing discovery at a Cabell County cemeteryled to serious charges against Matthew Fortner, accused of exhuming and discarding a baby’s casket and remains at Baylous Cemetery in Salt Rock.
The investigation began March 27, when someone decorating graves found the infant’s body on the ground and the casket thrown over a hillside. The baby’s remains were sent to the West Virginia State Medical Examiner’s Office for identification.
According to the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office, Fortner was contracted to dig a grave at the cemetery. He allegedly dug up the baby’s casket during the work—and then disposed of it instead of reporting the discovery.
Fortner has no known connection to the child. This week, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing.