John Heller, Post-Gazette
	Joseph Orbovich listens to his wife, Valerie, describe how she felt after the death of their infant son, Jacob.

Valerie Orbovich cradled her premature baby boy for two hours before he died in her arms at Magee-Womens Hospital nearly six years ago.

She and her husband Joseph knew going in that their firstborn would not survive long after being born only 18 weeks into the pregnancy. A sonogram showed his lungs were not developing properly and there was no hope for his survival.

A day before his birth, on Oct. 31, 2000, the Elliott couple agreed to an autopsy on tiny Jacob John Orbovich because they hoped to have more children and wanted to determine whether he had any genetic abnormalities.

Ms. Orbovich, then 24, signed a form allowing the hospital to dispose of the baby's remains "by cremation by the hospital's designated agency," the only option Magee offered after autopsies on babies that premature.

The couple is now suing the hospital for violating its promise and betraying their trust.

The Orboviches suspected the worst when they read on Aug. 28, 2005, that 300 babies and fetuses had been discovered in the garage of Robert B. Winston, a suspended McKeesport funeral director who had been hired by the hospital between 1999 and 2002 to transport them to a facility in Ross for cremation.

Both resumed grief therapy which they had gone to when the infant died in 2000, and Ms. Orbovich began having graphic nightmares.

"Your mind races. You think about all the details. I kept thinking he's been [in that garage] for five years," she said.

After months of calling, on her 30th birthday, Jan. 15, 2006, Ms. Orbovich, a hairdresser and housewife, got a call from the Allegheny County medical examiner's office informing her that Jacob was among the 19 babies, all beyond 16 weeks gestation, for whom they had confirmed identities.

Mr. Winston, 61, faces a criminal trial for theft by deception and 19 counts of abuse of a corpse.

The Orboviches are the first of the bereaved parents to file charges against the hospital, said their attorney Henry H. Wallace. The couple sued Magee last week in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court for breach of contract, corporate negligence, interference with a dead body and negligent retention of a contractor.

Magee spokesperson Michelle Baum said yesterday she could not comment because hospital officials had not yet seen the lawsuit.

The family has not pressed charges against Mr. Winston, who remains free on bond.

After Mr. Winston's preliminary hearing, his defense attorney John Elash said he felt the criminal charges were inappropriate in this case: "The issue is really breach of contract."

Over the past decade, parents have filed civil lawsuits against hospitals in Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, California, New York and Colorado for mistreated or lost remains of stillborn babies.

In several of those incidents, the hospitals re-examined and re-wrote their standards for disposing of remains. A couple in Montpelier, Vt., won $100,000 in a civil lawsuit in 2004 after a hospital improperly disposed of a fetus.

The state Department of Environmental Protection does not regulate the disposal of human remains. The county medical examiner's office said hospitals generally contract with local funeral directors, who are under regulations from the state board of funeral directors.

The Orboviches said they were grateful at the time of Jacob's birth that the hospital took so much care with them: snapping several Polaroids of their baby and allowing their extended family time to be with him while he was alive.

Mr. Orbovich, now 31, said they sang to him and showed him the view from the window. The computer technician said he was able to baptize his son with holy water provided by the hospital.

They were glad to learn, several months after the autopsy, that Jacob did not have any congenital illnesses. Ms. Orbovich returned to Magee twice to deliver two healthy babies, Sydney, 2, and Marko, 1. Mr. Orbovich also has a 14-year-old son, William.

The family gathered Feb. 25 to have a second funeral for Jacob that was attended by about 35 friends and relatives. Now, along with photos of the three children, their dining room cabinet holds an urn with the ashes of their firstborn son.