The Philadelphia Police Department’s Homicide Unit has begun exhuming unidentified human remains from a field in Northeast Philadelphia as part of a joint operation to identify victims who died under suspicious circumstances.
According to Philadelphia police, the excavation is part of the Remains Identification Project. The search began this week at Potter’s Field, located at 12841 Dunks Ferry Road, Philadelphia, PA 19154.
Police said they previously worked with local, state and university officials in 2018 to exhume and identify victims. Thanks to advances in forensic science, authorities were able to successfully identify seven individuals.
The unidentified human remains being exhumed this week have been classified by the Philadelphia coroner’s office as part of a homicide, unknown cause of death or suspected homicide, police said.
Authorities said portions of the remains will be tested for DNA and “sequencing to apply forensic investigation techniques for genetic genealogy” in an effort to identify the victims.
