Dozier Research Team Gets Large Grant from US Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded a team of researchers led by Drs. Erin Kimmerle and Christian Wells from the University of South Florida a grant for more than $420,000 to assist in their research at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Fla.

The $423,528 grant will help the team perform DNA testing and conduct forensic anthropological examinations of human remains for identification, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) announced Wednesday. The University of North Texas Center for Human Identification has stepped forward to perform all of the DNA analyses, compare the samples and enter the data into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

The NIJ offers an incredible program for cold cases and identification of missing persons. This funding is critical for completing the next steps in our research at the Dozier School for Boys including excavating human remains and performing a full anthropological analysis on them, said Dr. Kimmerle.

The Dozier site contains a cemetery with 31 metal crosses, but the USF researchers have identified at least 19 additional grave shafts in several wooded areas outside the marked cemetery.

The school has come under fire in recent years for possible abuse, both physical and sexual, and possible murder at the campus, which housed numerous boys during its 111-year history from 1900 to 2011.