Pennsylvania authorities exhume bodies in hopes of solving Philly cold cases

Local law enforcement authorities in Pennsylvania are working to solve several Philly cold cases.

On Wednesday, workers were seen digging to exhume seven coffins in Potter’s Field located in North Philadelphia in the hopes that local detectives can find answers to cases they have been trying to solve for decades.

Philly cold cases a focus for multiple law agencies

One of those cases that have haunted law enforcement is that of a young girl. Called Jane Doe child, the female is 4 to 6 years old and of African American decent.

The child was buried in Potter’s Field back in 1962 after she was discovered in a box in the Schuylkill River.

According to 6 ABC, the unidentified female victim died in a gruesome manner with her head amputated. She had been beaten and was missing a finger when she was discovered with law enforcement assuming she had been tortured.

“Forget about me being a prosecutor, just as a parent when you have a daughter, you hear a story of this girl whose age we don’t know, and no one ever reported her missing. We want to know who she is,” Assistant District Attorney Anthony Vocci, Jr. said.

The Jane Doe Child is one of more than 200 bodies buried in Potter’s Field Pennsylvania State Police and other law enforcement officials hope to discover the story and identity of so that they can be laid to rest with some dignity.

With new technology at their disposal from University of South Florida, law enforcement and forensic experts hope to find new clues in the Philly cold cases.

“We take DNA samples and send it to the lab to get profiles to compare to missing persons then we do isotope analysis of elements that end up in your bones, taken from food and water you ate and drank that can be referenced to broad geographical areas,” University of Florida forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle said.