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Skeletal remains found in suitcase on Philadelphia street

Police are investigating the discovery of skeletal remains in a suitcase in Southwest Philadelphia.

The body of a female was found inside a large suitcase in a dumpster at the Bartram Gardens Housing Project on July 17, 2018. Housing workers called the police after noticing the stench. The suitcase and body are prepred to be loaded into a police vehicle after being place in a blue bag.
The body of a female was found inside a large suitcase in a dumpster at the Bartram Gardens Housing Project on July 17, 2018. Housing workers called the police after noticing the stench. The suitcase and body are prepred to be loaded into a police vehicle after being place in a blue bag.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Philadelphia police are investigating the death of what appears to be a woman whose remains were stuffed in a suitcase and left next to a dumpster at a Southwest Philadelphia housing project.

Police were called to the 2700 block of Ruby Terrace in the Bartram Gardens Houses about 4 p.m. Tuesday, after Housing Authority workers reported a strong odor coming the garbage collection area.

"It appears to be a female. I'm not sure of the age at this point," Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives told reporters at the scene.

The dumpsters had been emptied on Monday, but it was not known if the suitcase had been left there before or after that, Walker said.

The remains, still in the suitcase, were taken to the Medical Examiner's Office in University City, where pathologists will attempt to determine the cause of death and the identity of the person.