Thomas Curry coffin was found empty and filled with pieces of wood. Florida anthropologists were shocked when they opened Curry’s coffin and realized that his body was gone. The group of experts have been working with Curry’s family to solve the mystery of his death, which occurred in 1925 while he was trying to flee the horrors of Dozier School for Boys.
On Tuesday, a group of researchers from the University of South Florida were baffled when they opened Thomas Curry coffin only to discover that the body of the 17-year-old boy who died under mysterious circumstances in 1925 was missing.
For some unknown reason, the casket was full of planks of wood. The team of Florida anthropologists, lead by researcher Erin Kimmerle, who was being helped by Curry’s family was hoping to solve the mystery surrounding the death of teen.
Thomas Curry was killed as he was trying the run away from the monstrosity that used to take place at the Florida School for Boys also known as the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. The family was first told that Curry was hit by a train, then, it was revealed that he might have fallen from the RR Bridge Chattahoochee in Florida.
But in 2008, documents found at the Marianna reform school revealed that Curry died from a crushed skull from an “unknown cause.” According to his family, Thomas Curry was killed just 29 days after he was sent to the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, which closed its doors in 2011.
The school was known for its brutally, forced labor, torture chambers where boys were beaten by a three-foot leather whip until their underwear were embedded into their derriere or fainted away.
It is believed that between 1900 to 1952, over 100 boys were killed in the school. Some were shot, attacked by dogs or beaten to death by prison guards who were hired by the school to prevent them from running away.
Erin Kimmerle has been able to examine the remains of two boys, ages 10 and 13 of the 55 bodies she unearthed. The pair has been identified and has been returned to their families.
Thomas Curry coffin was buried at a Catholic cemetery in Philadelphia, for 90 years, his family always believed that he was laid to rest with his great-grandparents.
Kimmerle who believes that “it’s really about providing access to justice for families,” will continue to dig up decades-old graves from a cemetery on the Dozier School for Boys campus hoping to find Curry’s remains.
