A man out walking his dog in an Ohio park found a suitcase that police claim contained the remains of two young girls.
The man called 911, according to Cleveland Police, immediately after he noticed there was a head in the suitcase.
Cleveland Police said they have yet to identify the girls, who have only been described in press statements as “juvenile black females.’’
Police also believe that both girls died from homicidal violence.
“At this time, we don’t know how long the juveniles had been at this location,” said Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd during a press conference on Tuesday, March 3, adding that “it was [for] some time.”
Todd said that one of the girls is believed to be between 8 or 9 and 13 years old. The other is thought to be between 10 and 14.
Cleveland Police said that they have received no reports about any missing children who would be matches for the girls found stuffed inside the suitcase.
Police told local reporters that there is “no indication of an ongoing threat” to Cleveland’s citizens.
The bodies are now in the custody of the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, who will determine the causes of death.
Phillip Donaldson, the dog walker, said he found the suitcase around 6 p.m. near Saranac Playground as his dog was sniffing around a pile of dirt.
“She stopped to sniff, and I usually just walk and she catch up with me, and she was taking too long,” Donaldson told News5Cleveland. The station did not provide the dog’s name.
“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,’’ he said.
Donaldson said he stepped back and called 911.
“It’s really sad to see something like this and I had been walking past that for at least a week — that pile of dirt for at least a week before I even just went across my mind — and I check it,” Donaldson said. “It was buried pretty much — you could see just the very top of it.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb decried the killings.
“This heinous crime, in which the bodies of two young children were abandoned, is deeply disturbing,” said Bibb. “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. Our Division of Police is pursuing every lead, carefully reviewing all available evidence, and deploying all necessary resources. They will not stop working until those responsible for this tragic and inhumane act are identified and brought to justice.”
Cleveland Police ask that anyone who has any information that may help them identify the two girls or the person or people responsible for their deaths call them at (216) 25-CRIME or 1-800-225-5324.
You can also file a report online here or contact Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County here.
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