Investigators exhuming unidentified human remains from Philadelphia's Potter's Field
With advanced technology, investigators are now hoping to identify homicide victims from decades ago.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Investigators from several agencies are exhuming more unidentified human remains from Potter's Field in the Parkwood section of Philadelphia.
It's located in the 1200 block of Dunks Ferry Road.
Police say the operation, known as the Remains Identification Project (RIP), is taking place throughout the week.
With advanced technology, investigators are now hoping to identify homicide victims from decades ago using DNA testing and sequencing to apply Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy techniques.
Investigators from the Philadelphia Police Department, the city's medical examiner's office and the FBI are conducting the joint operation.
Potter's Field is where people were once buried who were murdered, or died under mysterious circumstances, but were never identified.
"We're looking back. We're looking back as far as 1962 at the remains of homicide victims, and the technology we're using is very similar to the Box in the Box," said Insp. Raymond J. Evers of the Philadelphia Police Department.
The body of the Boy in the Box was found in 1957 and his identity remained unknown for decades.
Then in December 2022, police announced the boy had been identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli.
"All the scientific things that we did in that case, we're going to be using on the remains we find here," Evers continued.
A similar effort in 2018 led to seven people being identified.
Authorities are back out here this week with the hope that the recent advancements in DNA technology will help them determine who some of these people were decades after they lost their lives.
"There are FBI agents from across the country here. Our homicide is here, our crime scene unit. It would be very rewarding for these individuals working this case to make sure that there is closure for some of these families," said Evers.
