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6th Dozier Body Positively Identified

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
KATY HENNIG
/
The Florida Channel
In an archive photo, crosses mark Boot Hill Cemetery on the grounds of the Dozier School for Boys.

Researchers say they have positively identified the remains of a 15-year-old boy who died at a Florida reform school where guards were accused of brutality throughout its troubled history.

University of South Florida anthropologist Erin Kimmerle said Tuesday the remains of Robert Stephens, who died in 1937, were positively identified. According to his death certificate, the teen was stabbed to death. His DNA was matched with his nephew.

Anthropologists found the remains of 51 people buried at the school.

They are trying to identify who was buried there and the stories behind how they and others died at the school.

Researchers will issue a final report in January, and Kimmerle said they are also working on a documentary.