Pa. Mass Grave Of Sick Irish Railroad Workers May Be Murder Scene

Aug. 19, 2009— -- The recently discovered mass grave of Irish railroad workers in Pennsylvania — at first believed to have been victims of a cholera outbreak — has taken a far-darker turn: Investigators at the site, known as Duffy's Cut, told IrishCentral that at least two of the skulls they have unearthed were found to have had blunt-force trauma inflicted on them at the time of death.

"When we removed the first skull, we found that there was actually a decent-sized hole at the rear, and when the physical anthropologist examined it, she (Janet Monge) was able to tell us that his fracture, this blunt-force trauma fracture, was inflicted 'perimortem' – right around the time of death," Frank Watson told IrishCentral on Tuesday.

"Because this is the second skull that has shown perimortem blunt-force trauma, she is calling it suspicious, and for us it is a very strange turn of events that the first two skulls show signs of blunt-force trauma. "

The damage on the skulls recovered is significant. The first skull has a half by one-quarter-inch divot, while the second skull had much-more significant damage done to it. A blunt instrument opened a hole two square inches wide on the skull and the collateral damage to the skull spreads over a four or five-inch area.

So, was it murder?

"I am always hesitant to say without further evidence, but most of the time traumatic blows to the head happen at the time of death," said Janet Monge, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, the anthropologist who examined the skulls taken from the Duffy's Cut site.

Another factor that indicates the blow happened before death is the fact that the second skull was found intact in a coffin-like box, meaning that there was little chance that such a significant blow could have been inflicted post mortem

"I will say the one who has the hole in his skull would fit perfectly the end of a pickax head, but the anthropologist can't make a full decision on that. We did also find an odd metallic item that was in there, and we are going to have some tests done on that too. We are not sure, but it might show some sign of a firearm being used," continued Watson.