ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The National Institute of Justice has awarded University of South Florida researchers a $423,000 grant to help with the investigation of missing and unidentified children who died under unexplained circumstances and were buried in unmarked graves at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Fla.
The grant was announced Wednesday morning. It allows researchers to perform DNA testing and conduct investigations on human remains for identification.
This weekend, researchers from USF hope to start exhuming bodies from unmarked graves and perhaps return them to family members for a proper burial.
Former students have accused employees and guards at the school of physical and sexual abuse. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated but concluded in 2009 that it was unable to substantiate or dispute the claims.
