Princeton U. Releases Report On Handling Of 1985 Bombing Remains

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton University on Tuesday released the results of an independent investigation of its role in handling the remains of Black children killed in the 1985 MOVE house bombing in Philadelphia.

The remains were never returned to the family and were used for an online anthropology course.

The 56-page report from Ballard Spahr LLP concludes that the remains were never stored at the University and were used twice in Princeton courses – once in a small graduate-level seminar taught in 2015, and once in a video recorded for an undergraduate course offered in 2019.

According to the report, the video was filmed at the Penn Museum, and the course was later offered to the public by Princeton, free of charge, on Coursera.

The report included reviews of thousands of documents and interviews of 23 people from within and outside the University community.

“Neither the Medical Examiner’s Office, which released the remains to Dr. Alan Mann and Dr. Janet Monge in 1986, nor members of the Africa family, were consulted prior to the use of the remains for instruction,” the University said.

“During the time period in which the remains were used in Princeton courses, the University did not have policies in place specifically addressing the ethical use of human remains in teaching and research activities.”

The report goes on to conclude that no laws or ethical precepts were violated, but that Dr. Mann and Dr. Monge’s conduct showed “exceedingly poor judgment and insensitivity to the ramifications of their actions.”

On May 13, 1985, the Philadelphia Police Department bombed a home shared by members of MOVE - a Black liberation group. The bombing killed 11 people including five children.

A report by Billy Pen.com first revealed that for decades, the remains of two children killed in the bombing were kept at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

The victim's remains traveled between the two universities for years and were used for teaching an online course without the consent of their family members, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Recent findings from an independent investigation into Penn museum's role in the handling of remains addressed "three inaccurate factual premises" in media reports, including the one from Billy Pen. The investigation by Tucker Law Group concluded there was no evidence Mann and Monge had more than one set of human remains.

The report states that there was never a definitive consensus that those bone fragments belonged to 14-year-old Katricia. It also said that anthropologists tried to return the remains to the Africa family on two separate occasions. (You can read more by clicking here.)

Back in April when media reported on the story, Princeton University's Department of Anthropology apologized as did University President Christopher Eisgruber.

Read More Here: Princeton President Apologizes For Handling Of Bombing Remains

Read More Here: Princeton U. Apologizes For Handling Of Bombing Victim's Bones

Eisgruber announced he was authorizing a fact-finding effort, “to be conducted by outside counsel," to help the university understand the "scope and nature" of its role in the matter.

The report was made public on Tuesday, Aug. 31.

The report includes the following recommendations:

• Princeton should consider establishing an oversight board to guide the appropriate use of human remains for research or teaching.
• The University should consider issuing a position statement regarding the use of human remains.
• Human remains that are authorized for use in research or teaching at Princeton should be stored in a secure, dedicated location on campus that is respectful, facilitates preservation, and properly identifies the remains.
• The University should periodically conduct an audit of laboratories or facilities in which human remains might be located and be cognizant of research and teaching activities in which human remains might be used.

In a statement, Eisgruber thanked the Ballard Spahr LLP team for their “thorough report and thoughtful recommendations.”

“As I said last April, this University has an ethical obligation to treat people and communities with dignity and respect,” Eisgruber said.

“I regret that remains of a victim of the MOVE bombing were used in Princeton courses without consultation with those affected by the bombing, including the Africa family. I again extend the University’s apologies for the use of the remains.”

Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.