By Glenn Adams, Associated Press, 10/24/00
BAXTER STATE PARK, Maine -- A member of a Massachusetts religious sect that buried two children in a 200,000-acre wilderness preserve a year ago guided a search team to their unmarked graves Tuesday.
The remains, believed to be those of Jeremiah Corneau and Samuel Robidoux, were found in a thickly wooded area of Baxter State Park amid large rocks and heavy roots.
David Corneau, Jeremiah's father, used a hand-drawn map to pinpoint the grave site. After locating a landmark, he walked a set number of paces, then turned and headed toward the largest pine tree in a grove.
"It was basically X marks the spot," said Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service. Once a cadaver-sniffing dog confirmed that a body was present, searchers began digging and found two small wooden coffins, Latti said.
Law enforcement authorities have been searching for the bodies of the children whom they believe were buried by sect members after they died under mysterious circumstances. Jeremiah was thought to have been stillborn or to have lived only a few minutes. Ten-month-old Samuel allegedly starved to death after he stopped nursing.
The site, which was 1.3 miles north of Grand Lake Matagamon, was so remote that Corneau and the search team had to be transported by float plane. The nearest road was at least five miles away.
The coffins were flown out hours later and transferred to a sport utility vehicle to be transported to the state medical examiner's office in Augusta.
The search in Baxter State Park was launched a day after Corneau agreed to lead authorities to the bodies in exchange for immunity from prosecution for himself and his wife.
The agreement does not preclude charges against other members of the sect, and Bristol County District Attorney Paul F. Walsh said "it's likely" that someone will be charged. He declined to speculate on who might be charged or the nature of the offenses.
Corneau used landmarks and compass bearings to lead searchers to the site, which investigators immediately blocked off as a crime scene to protect evidence from being disturbed.
Walsh said the coffins were about three feet in the ground and the site was not disturbed by wildlife. One coffin was three feet by 18 inches, the other almost 18 inches square.
The prosecutor said authorities never would have found the site without Corneau's help.
Acting on tips from former sect members, police searched Baxter State Park several times last year but found nothing.
The park, which was bequeathed by the late Gov. Percival Baxter and includes Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, does not have paved roads or running water, in keeping with Baxter's request that the land be kept "forever wild."
The area that was searched in Township 6, Range 9, consists of heavy woods and thick underbrush, and is off the beaten track for most of the park's 100,000 visitors a year, said Buzz Caverly, park director.
Authorities have been looking into the disappearance of the two boys and were concerned that the sect members' rejection of conventional medicine and other beliefs may have contributed to their deaths.
Walsh said the state medical examiner would conduct autopsies, but Corneau's lawyer, Robert A. George, said his client's agreement with the prosecutor specified that there would be no autopsy on Jeremiah's remains.
Sect members, based in the southeastern Massachusetts city of Attleboro, do not recognize the legal system and remained silent for months before a grand jury investigating the boys' disappearance.
Corneau, 33, was one of eight members of the group jailed for refusing to respond to the grand jury's questions. He was freed last month after taking the Fifth Amendment.
"David admits to no wrongdoing," said George, who noted that his client's decision to lead searchers to the site came after much thought during his 130 days in jail for contempt and the removal of all children from the sect.
Corneau's pregnant wife, Rebecca, 32, was recently held in state custody after a judge expressed concern for the well-being of the unborn child. She gave birth last week to a girl, who remains in state custody until her fate is decided by the courts.
Gerry FitzGerald, a spokesman for the district attorney's office in Massachusetts' Bristol County, indicated Tuesday that prosecutors are more interested in punishing sect members involved in the death of Samuel.
"(Corneau's) degree of culpability in any crime that could be proven is considerably less than that of other persons," FitzGerald said.
Asked why Corneau had been granted immunity after months of stonewalling the investigation, FitzGerald said: "Finding the bodies is very important. Prosecuting persons for an intentionally inflicted death of a child is very important. Having an eyewitness is very important."
