Penn has reached a settlement with Lionell Dotson, the brother of MOVE bombing victim Katricia Dotson, over the University’s decades-long possession of human remains from the 1985 tragedy, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court, alleged that Penn improperly kept remains belonging to Katricia Dotson, a 14-year-old girl killed along with her younger sister Zanetta and nine others. Their deaths were a result of the Philadelphia Police Department’s 1985 bombing of a MOVE residence at 6221 Osage Ave. in West Philadelphia.
After an investigation by the MOVE Commission — an independent body established to examine the city's handling of the bombing — pathologists identified the remains as belonging to Katricia. However, the city medical examiner and two University anthropologists, Alan Mann and Janet Monge, later disputed this identification, arguing that the bones were those of an 18-to-20-year-old woman. The remains were subsequently transferred to Mann and Monge and held at the Penn Museum for decades without the family's knowledge.
Monge filed a lawsuit against Penn and others following public backlash over her handling of the remains. She alleged that criticism damaged her reputation and led to her demotion, which she claims was the result of defamation by media coverage.
The issue returned to public attention in 2021, sparking controversy after it was revealed that Monge had displayed the remains in an online anthropology course. Public outcry prompted Penn to return the remains to MOVE members. Dotson, however, claimed that as Katricia’s next of kin, he should have received the remains directly.
The Penn Museum revealed in November 2024 that, despite prior denials, it had also retained the remains of 12-year-old Delisha Africa and a 14-year-old victim named Tree. It published a statement then, explaining that an “ongoing comprehensive inventory of [the museum’s] biological anthropology section” led to the finding. The update confirmed that the remains were from Delisha Africa and stated that the discovery had been conveyed to the family.
In 2021, hundreds of West Philadelphia and Penn community members protested around Penn Museum, demanding the swift return of the remains of Tree and Delisha, criticizing Penn’s apology, and speaking to honor the lives of the victims. Participants marched from the Penn Museum to then Penn President Amy Gutmann’s home.
The undisclosed settlement marks a resolution in one of several legal actions Dotson has pursued.
Earlier this year, Dotson settled a lawsuit with the city, alleging that the medical examiner’s office had also been in possession of his sisters’ remains. A third lawsuit, which has yet to be settled, is currently pending against the funeral home Penn hired to handle the remains.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
Donate