Man’s body found in storage container in Frankford
"There has yet to be a definitive link between the person who is missing, and the person found inside the container," Davenport said.
Authorities on Friday were investigating whether a man’s body found Thursday night in a storage container inside a Frankford rowhouse was that of a 70-year-old man reported missing earlier in the day.
At a news conference at Police Headquarters, Homicide Lt. Norman Davenport said police were investigating the apparent homicide in the 1600 block of Fillmore Street.
Relatives of 70-year-old Robert Derer reported him missing at 1 p.m. Thursday. They told police he lived in a second-floor apartment in a rowhouse in that block and had not been in contact with them for several days.
Police searching the residence Thursday night found the body inside a large storage bin. The man suffered blunt-force trauma throughout his body. His identification awaits confirmation by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The body was in the container between a few days and a few weeks.
“There is yet to be a definitive link between the person who is missing and the person found inside the container,” Davenport said.
Police were questioning three men, including two in their mid-20s who are related and who also lived in the apartment, one of whom was being treated at an area hospital for “an undisclosed illness,” Davenport said.
A toddler also was living in the apartment, Davenport said, but he did not elaborate.
No charges had been filed as of Friday afternoon.