The body of a 12-year-old boy, identified as Hezekiah Bernard, was tragically found last week in a dumpster in Philadelphia. The discovery was made by a sanitation employee with the Philadelphia Housing Authority on August 23 in the 5500 block of Cherry Street.
During a news conference, Philadelphia Police Staff Inspector Ernest Ransom revealed that Hezekiah Bernard had been brutally killed and placed in the trash can. The focus of the investigation is now on swiftly apprehending those responsible for this senseless death.
On August 22, a sanitation worker had moved a plastic trash container placed inside his truck to a PHA facility where it was kept overnight. The following day, the same employee brought the container back to Cherry Street to collect more trash. It was during this time that the container flipped over, revealing Bernard’s body. His head was wrapped in plastic, and a comforter had been placed over him.
Bernard’s body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office, where officials determined that his death was a homicide resulting from a gunshot wound, following an autopsy. The estimated time of death was 24 to 36 hours before the discovery.
Initially, authorities faced difficulties in identifying Bernard. However, on Tuesday, as homicide investigators canvassed the area around Cherry Street and distributed fliers with a description of what he was wearing, members of Bernard’s family recognized the details and later identified the body.
It has been reported that Bernard was under the care of the Department of Human Services. Currently, no suspects have been identified in this tragic case.