Some bodies taken from a Tulsa cemetery and later reburied that could be remains of possible victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre will be exhumed again. That step is expected as part of a new bid to gather more DNA for possible identification.
will be exhumed again starting Wednesday, part of a bid to gather more DNA for possible identification.
The latest exhumation of bodies, some of which were taken last year from Oaklawn Cemetery in the northeastern Oklahoma city will be followed by another excavation for additional remains. “There were 14 of the 19 that fit the criteria for further DNA analysis,” according to city spokesperson Michelle Brooks. “These are the ones that will be re-exhumed.”
The 14 sets of remains were sent to Intermountain Forensics in Salt Lake City, Utah, in an attempt to identify them. Brooks said two setsIt wasn’t immediately clear how many of the 14 will be exhumed a second time, Brooks said.from about two dozen people who said they are descendants of massacre victims and should have been allowed to attend the ceremony, which was closed to the public.