CLEVELAND (TCN) — The bodies of two unidentified girls, between the ages of 8 and 14, were discovered inside suitcases in shallow graves, police say.
WEWS reports Phillip Donaldson was walking his dog on March 2 when he found one of the cases. He said, “It was like a pile of dirt, and she stopped to sniff. … I went back and looked, and it was a suitcase that was half buried and I pulled it up and looked in it, and it was a head. Somebody’s head in it.”
Donaldson told the outlet he was shocked and disturbed and that he had been walking past the dirt pile for at least a week. He said the suitcase was buried and only the very top of it was visible. After making the discovery, he called the police.
At a press conference, Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd said the bodies belong to two unidentified girls, both Black. One was between 8.5 and 13 years old, and the other between 10.5 and 14 years old, WEWS reports. According to WOIO, the Cuyahoga County medical examiner confirmed through DNA testing that the girls were half-siblings.
Their causes of death have not been released and there are no possible suspects, Todd said, but she did confirm the bodies had been there for quite some time. No missing children in the area match the description of the girls.
According to Todd, they are working with state and federal partners to identify the girls, WOIO reports.
Mike Polensek, who oversees Cleveland’s Ward 10, said the area where the girls were found is known for illegal dumping, WEWS reports.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said in a statement, “This heinous crime, in which the bodies of two young children were abandoned, is deeply disturbing. These were children who had their entire lives ahead of them. Whoever is responsible for depriving them of their futures should be held fully accountable under the law,” per WEWS.
The investigation is ongoing.
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