Trash fire yields gruesome find

Firefighters in Chester stumbled onto a gruesome scene yesterday morning, when they extinguished what they thought was a simple rubbish fire.

Under the trash and ashes, the "severely burnt" remains of a decapitated male were discovered, according to Chester police.

Firefighters were called at 3 a.m. to a secluded area at the rear of West Seventh Street near Woodrow Street, where they quickly extinguished the fire, police said.

Only when the blaze was under control did firefighters notice the headless body.

Chester police were called in, and the crime scene was processed by the Chester Police Department and the criminal-investigation division of the Delaware County district attorney's office.

The victim's identity remained unknown yesterday.

The body was taken to the Delaware County coroner's office for an autopsy, according to police.

Anyone with information regarding the incident or the victim's identity is urged to contact Chester Police Detective Randy Bothwell at 610-447-8430 or the county's criminal-investigation division at 610-891-4700. *