The two young girls found stuffed inside suitcases and buried in shallow graves in a Cleveland neighborhood were related, authorities have revealed, marking the first major breakthrough in the grim case.
A preliminary DNA examination determined the girls were half-siblings, according to a new report released by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office in Ohio on Wednesday.
The bodies were discovered Monday night in the area of South Collinwood by a man walking his dog near East 162nd Street and Midland Avenue, close to Ginn Academy School, Chief Dorothy Todd said during a news conference this week.
Investigators believe the girls were between the ages of 8 and 14, but neither has been positively identified. No cause of death has been released.
“At this time, neither decedent has been positively identified,” Christopher Harris, a spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, said in a statement, according to NBC News.
Officers arrived on the scene around 6 p.m. Monday after the caller reported finding “what appeared to be a body inside of a suitcase,” Todd told reporters.
A search of the area led to “what appeared to be a second shallow grave, and they could tell that there was a second suitcase in that location,” the chief said.
Police have not determined how long the girls had been buried, though Todd said they had been there for “some time.”
Phillip Donaldson, the dog walker who found the first suitcase told local media the mound of dirt had been visible for at least a week. He recalled his disturbing discovery to News 5.
“It was like a pile of dirt, and she stopped to sniff … and she was taking too long,” Donaldson said, referring to his dog. “So 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.”
Authorities estimate one girl was between 8½ and 13 years old, while the other was believed to be between 10½ and 14 years old. Both victims were Black. Todd said neither body appeared to have been dismembered.
The girls were found in an area with little foot traffic and have not been linked to any active missing persons cases in the Cleveland area.
“Locally, we have no reports of missing children to match these identifications. We are checking statewide as well. We have assistance from our state, federal and local partners,” she said.
Investigators may face challenges obtaining surveillance footage from the area as “a lot of cameras don’t capture historical data,” Todd said.
“It is traumatic for everyone,” the chief added. “It is traumatic for those who live in the area to know that this was right there at their doorstep.”
No suspects have been identified, police said. But Todd urged anyone with information to contact the Cleveland Police Department’s homicide unit at 216-623-5464 or Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463.
