Police ID Missing Pregnant Woman 33 Years After Her Skeletal Remains Were Found

After an investigation that spanned more than three decades, police have identified a pregnant Philadelphia woman whose skeletal remains were found 33 years ago at an abandoned distillery in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 

The remains of a woman between the ages of 17 and 23 were first discovered back on January 24, 1988, at an underground pump house at the abandoned Publicker Distillery along State Road in Bensalem. Investigators at the time said the woman was six months pregnant. Her description didn’t match that of any reports of missing persons or runaways at the time. 

In 1994, a forensic sculpture was made of the woman in an attempt to help identify her but the cold case remained unsolved. 

In 2007, DNA was extracted from the skeletal remains and uploaded into CODIS, the national DNA database. In 2017, DNA was extracted from the fetal bones and in 2020 more DNA was extracted by Bode Technology and genome sequencing was performed. 

Finally, this year, a team of DNA Genealogists helped build a family tree based on the DNA results. The work helped investigators identify the victim as Lisa Todd from Philadelphia. 

Todd was originally reported missing in Philadelphia in October of 1985. Police said she had dropped out of Frankford High School as a teenager and had a 2-year-old son at the time of her disappearance.

Police said the circumstances surrounding her death are suspicious and they’re still trying to determine how she died and why her body was left at the distillery. Todd’s family was notified and are cooperating with Bensalem Police Detectives. 

Anyone with information on Todd should call Bensalem Township Police Department Detective Chris McMullin at 215-633-3719.