A forensic scientist Wednesday said that investigators trying to find victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre had enough DNA for testing on two sets of 14 remains taken from a local cemetery one year ago.
Danny Hellwig, Intermountain Forensics, Salt Lake City, who is examining the remains, said to The Associated Press, “It’s a promising step towards identifying those whose remains were taken from Oaklawn Cemetery.”
Hellwig stated that “we have two sets” of names that we are very excited about. It doesn’t guarantee a result but it gives us hope for learning the names.
Hellwig stated that the key to finding a match is having descendants of these individuals provide DNA to a database.
Hellwig stated that the sequencing will begin in July or august. If the descendant is already in Intermountain Forensics DNA database, a match could be made in days.
None of the remains can be confirmed to have been victims of the 1921 massacre that took place when a white mob attacked Greenwood, a predominantly Black neighborhood of Tulsa. Over 1,000 homes were set on fire, many were looted, and Black Wall Street, a thriving business district was destroyed.
According to historians, the death toll was between 75-300.
Investigators are looking for signs of trauma such as gunshot wounds to confirm that the remains are victims of a massacre. According to Phoebe Stubblefield (forensic scientist), who was part of the team that excavated both the cemetery and its remains, the majority of those killed by the mob were men based on contemporaneous accounts.
Hellwig stated that one set of remains was sent to the Intermountain Forensics DNA Lab in Utah. It included a male who had a bullet in his shoulder. However, it did not contain enough DNA.
Hellwig stated that they are currently in discussions with the investigators to determine if there is additional evidence. This will allow them to extract more DNA from the individual.
Hellwig stated that the lab has received the bones and teeth of each remains, with the useable DNA coming from the teeth.
The search for massacre victims’ graves began in 2020. It was reopened last year, with almost three dozen coffins containing the remains of possible victims being recovered.
According to a Tulsa news release, investigators have not yet announced when they will analyze additional sites that are suspected of being mass graves.
