Body found in suitcase is identified

Body found in suitcase is identified

Police have identified the body found Thursday in a suitcase left on a road near Philadelphia International Airport.

Scott Stephen Bernheisel, 40, whose last known address was Philadelphia, was identified through fingerprints, said Tinicum Police Chief Stephen Edmiston.

The suitcase containing Bernheisel's decomposing remains was found by a man walking in the 1000 block of 2d Street in the Lester neighborhood of Tinicum Township. The reddish brown suitcase was located about 20 feet off the roadway, police said.

Bernheisel, is described as 140 pounds and 5-feet-8, according to the District Attorney's office.

According to public records, Bernheisel had a history of drug arrests. In October 2014, he pleaded guilty to drug possession and received 12 month probation. In December 2013, he pleaded guilty to manufacture, delivery, or possession and received four years probation.

Police asked anyone with information to contact County Det. Sgt. William Gordon at 610-891-4703 or Sgt. James Y. Simpkins, of Tinicum Township Police at 610-521-3830.

- Mari A. Schaefer