A woman was charged with leading a cult
that stole bodies from city cemeteries and used them in religious ceremonies,
police said.
Miriam Mirabel, 60, of Irvington, was arrested Monday by
Essex County authorities. Police had been looking for her since one of her
followers was arrested in August after being found with skulls and other human
remains.
Authorities said Mirabel told her followers to steal two
bodies from Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in 2001 and one body from Holy Sepulchre
Cemetery in 2002. Some of the remains were taken to a religious store in
Newark, where they were used in religious ceremonies, police said.
Mirabel was a priestess in the Palo Mayombe cult, which
originated among West African slaves.
She pleaded innocent at an arraignment Tuesday to charges
of burglary, theft of human remains and conspiracy. She was ordered held on
$500,000 bail.
Her attorney, John Convery, called the case ghoulish, but
said the large bail amount was excessive.