2 young girls found dead in suitcases in Cleveland were related, coroner says

2 Young Girls Found Dead in Suitcases in Cleveland Were Related, Coroner Says

Cleveland police confirmed the discovery of two Black girls, aged between 8 and 14, who were found stuffed into suitcases and buried in shallow graves on the east side of the city. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed Wednesday that the victims were half-siblings based on preliminary DNA analysis. “At this time, neither decedent has been positively identified,” said Christopher Harris, a spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office.

The bodies were uncovered near East 162nd Street and Midland Avenue, close to the Ginn Academy School, an all-boys public institution. A dog walker stumbled upon the first corpse in the area on Monday evening and alerted authorities. While investigating, homicide detectives located a second shallow grave containing another body. The coroner’s office has not yet disclosed the cause of death.

“It was like a pile of dirt, and she stopped to sniff … and she was taking too long,” Phillip Donaldson told WEWS-TV. “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.”

Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd noted that neither body showed signs of dismemberment. She also mentioned that the girls were found in a low-traffic zone, and no active missing persons reports in the area have been connected to the case. With no suspects or leads currently, officers are urging anyone with information to contact the homicide unit at 216-623-5464 or Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463.

Corky Siemaszko is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital.