May 25, 2013
MARIANNA, Fla. (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson wants the Justice Department to join an expanded search for graves and possible evidence of crimes at a defunct reform school in the Florida Panhandle.
The Florida Democrat on Wednesday made the request in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
University of South Florida anthropologists on Monday released a report indicating they had documented the deaths of two staffers and 96 children at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.
They also said they found 50 gravesites on the grounds. That's 19 more than the Florida Department of Law Enforcement identified in a prior investigation. FDLE, though, was unable to confirm or refute claims that school staffers had abused students decades ago.
The anthropologists believe additional research will turn up more gravesites.
