A man’s body was found in the basement of an abandoned Chinese restaurant at 22nd and South streets in Philadelphia Wednesday night. The investigation continued Thursday.
Police are investigating after a man's remains were discovered inside a shallow grave in the basement of an abandoned Chinese restaurant along Philadelphia's South Street.
According to police, fire crews were dispatched at about 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, to an abandoned building along the 2200 block of South Street on a report of a small fire.
As crews extinguished a fire in the basement, they found, what they believed to be, human remains, officials said.
Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said Thursday that the area was excavated once the fire was put out and it was confirmed that a man's remains were discovered in a shallow grave dug into the floor of the basement at that property.
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He said that the man appeared to have been bound.
Katie Brandon, a stylist at Greenhouse Salon nearby said that she believed work was being done on the property that had been shuttered for several years.
"The building, the restaurant has been abandoned for… we opened three-and-a-half years ago and it was closed at least a year before that," she said.
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According to Vanore, the medical examiner's office is still working to determine identify the man who's remains were discovered and officials have not yet determined the individual's cause of death.
However, Vanore said the incident is being investigated as a homicide and officers were able to pull items that, he believed, could be considered evidence from the scene.
Homicides down so far in 2025
Despite this discovery, homicides in Philadelphia are down around 29% from the same time last year, according to police data updated Friday. The year-to-date total of 55 homicides is the lowest over the past 20 years of data.
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