More human remains from the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia have been found at a museum

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More human remains from a 1985 police bombing of the headquarters of a black liberation group in Philadelphia have been found near the University of Pennsylvania.

The remains are believed to be those of 12-year-old Delisha Africa, one of five children and six adults killed when police bombed the headquarters of the MOVE organization, sparking a fire that spread to dozens of terraced houses.

The remains were discovered during an extensive inventory the Penn Museum conducted to prepare thousands of artifacts, some dating back more than a century, to be moved to improved storage facilities.

In 2021, university officials acknowledged that the school had preserved bones of at least one bombing victim after assisting in the forensic identification process in the aftermath of the bombing. A short time later, the city notified family members that there was a box of remains in the medical examiner’s office that had been retained after the autopsies were completed.

The museum said it is not known how the remains found this week were separated from the rest, and immediately notified the child’s family of the discovery.

“We are committed to full transparency regarding any new evidence that may emerge,” Penn Museum said in a statement on its website. “Confronting our institutional history requires an ever-evolving examination of how we can maintain museum practices to the highest ethical standards. The centrality of human dignity and the wishes of descendants guides the current treatment of human remains in the care of the Penn Museum.”

MOVE members, led by founder John Africa, practiced a lifestyle that eschewed modern conveniences, preached equal rights for animals, and rejected government authority. The group clashed with police and many of their practices led to complaints from neighbors.

Police trying to evict members from their headquarters used a helicopter to drop a bomb on the house on May 13, 1985. More than sixty houses in the area burned to the ground as emergency personnel were ordered to withdraw.

A 1986 commission report called the decision to bomb an occupied terraced house “unconscionable.” MOVE survivors were awarded a $1.5 million judgment in a 1996 lawsuit.