Body discovered wrapped in a blanket and burned in Kensington

KENSINGTON (WPVI) -- The discovery of a body burned beyond recognition has turned a Philadelphia neighborhood into a grim crime scene.

The person was wrapped in a blanket and set on fire behind a laundromat in Kensington.

The discovery was made just before 8 a.m. Friday in the 2100 block of East Allegheny Avenue.

A body was found burned and wrapped in a blanket - a gruesome discovery that's stunned and scared neighbors.

Anna Oydzinski of Kensington tells us, "If it can happen to that person it can happen to me or my grandchildren. That's what I'm in fear of."

Police say the investigation is going to take some time. Sadly, there's not much left of the body.

Philadelphia Police Lt. John Stanford explains, "The number one priority is finding out the cause of death. Once that's determined then we'll know which route to begin that investigation."

Those who live in the neighborhood say they're alarmed, but they are not surprised. They say the neighborhood has steadily been getting worse.

One resident, Theresa, says, "Drug activity on the railroad is been doubled increased. I don't know if they pushed it down from Somerset Street or Tioga, but we have not had nothing in this community. But for months it's been nothing but addicts, nothing but drugs."

At this point, detectives say they don't even know the gender of the person burned. That too will take some time.

However, police say they want neighbors to know they're listen to their concerns about any growing problems in the neighborhood.

"Whether it's a situation where we need to clean up that area, whether it's dropping down additional lighting in that area, contact Streets Department, whatever. We have those resources within the city," Lt. Stanford said.