THERE is no evidence a crime has been committed over an alleged orphanage mass grave, the Crown Office and Police Scotland have said.
The police and prosecution service were responding to a joint investigation by BBC News and the Sunday Post which alleged 'hundreds' of orphan children are buried in a mass grave in Lanark.
It is alleged the children, who were residents at the Smyllum Park Orphanage in Lanark, Scotland, are buried in an unmarked mass grave at the nearby St. Mary's Cemetery.
The children, estimated to be aged from infants to young teens, were under the care of the institution run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul from 1864 until 1981.
In a statement, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Police Scotland said: "COPFS and Police Scotland recognise the level of public concern following media reports about Smyllum Park Home, including reports that children were buried in unmarked graves.
"COPFS and the police are responsible for the investigation of crime and the investigation of sudden, suspicious and unexplained deaths.
"Based on the information currently available, there is no evidence to suggest a crime has been committed, or that any deaths require to be investigated, but that position will be kept under review.
"Any allegations of criminality will be thoroughly and sensitively investigated."
The institution is currently under investigation by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), to whom the Daughters of Charity have previously provided evidence to earlier this year.
Representatives for the The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul told the Inquiry in June and said they could find no evidence of abuse.
In a statement issued to the media, the Order said they were "co-operating fully" with the Child Abuse Inquiry and that they believed that was the "best and most appropriate forum for such investigations."
They continued: "As Daughters of Charity our values are totally against any form of abuse and thus, we offer our most sincere and heartfelt apology to anyone who suffered any form of abuse whilst in our care."
Death records for Smyllum Park uncovered by both news outlets indicate that most of the children died of natural causes, from common diseases at the time including tuberculosis, pneumonia and pleurisy.
Analysis of the records show that a third of those who died were aged five or under, while very few of the deceased, 24 in total, were aged over 15.
While it was open, approximately 11,600 people passed through the doors of Smyllum Park.
Most of the deaths occurred between 1870 and 1930.
In a statement to The Irish Post, a spokesman for the SCAI said Inquiry hearings will resume in October 2017.
It added the Inquiry will consider the case involving the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, with a particular focus on Smyllum Park and Bellevue House in Rutherglen, another institution formally run by the Order.
