Columbus Division of Police have taped off a residence location at 13th Avenue and 4th Street after human remains were found inside, according to Columbus Division of Police. Credit: Franz Ross / Lantern TV station manager

Columbus Division of Police have taped off a residence at 13th Avenue and 4th Street after human remains were found inside.
Credit: Franz Ross / Lantern TV station manager

Human remains taken out of an off-campus residence overnight are not believed to be those of an Ohio State student, a Columbus Division of Police spokesman said late Wednesday afternoon.

The remains could have been in the home — located at the corner of East 13th Avenue and 4th Street — for up to several months, Columbus Police Sgt. Richard Weiner said.

“There’s extreme decomposition that’s presenting challenges for the investigators,” he said.

So far the cause of death is unknown and will require additional collection of forensic evidence, he said.

“There’s nothing at this point that leads us to believe that this was a homicide, however, we are treating it as such until we can rule that out for sure,” he said.

Although the home appeared to be abandoned, police are still trying to determine if someone was renting the residence when the person died, Weiner said.

Still, he said there appeared to be a “hoarding situation” inside the home.

“Imagine all kinds of debris— there’s trash, boxes just stacked up on the floor, there’s not an open part of the place to walk on,” he said.

Police were still trying to reach the property owner as of Wednesday afternoon, he said at the time.

The Franklin County Auditor’s website lists the property owners as James and Margaret Amick. However, contact information could not be found.

One student who lives in the area said he wished he had received a public safety notice about the incident.

“It does make me feel uneasy knowing that this happened directly behind my house … A safety email, something of that sort would have been nice.  I just had to walk over here to find out for myself,” said Ryan Link, a third-year in psychology. “I had to ask what’s going on and (police) can’t even give me all the information I want. I’m not too happy about that.”