Created: 5/15/2009 1:47:00 PM 
TALLAHASSEE, FL -- State investigators say they have found no evidence that any of the 31 unmarked graves at a Florida reform school are of boys allegedly abused by the school staff. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey said at a press conference Friday that the department is still investigating abuse allegations. But he said officials have identified the causes of death for all but five of the bodies. He said those five likely died from influenza. Former students at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna came forward last year with allegations they were beaten, and that some boys beaten were killed and buried on the school's property. They suspected the unmarked graves were bodies of boys beaten to death by guards. The former students, most now in their 60s, say they were beaten bloody and raped in the 1950s and 60s as punishment. The Governor asked FDLE back in December, 2008, to investigate. Friday afternoon, Bailey announced the state has uncovered many documents about the gravesites. They say they found old news articles, death certificates and old school records. "This cemetery has been in place since the 1900s and commonly known as 'boot hill,'" says Bailey. FDLE says the first student was buried at the site in 1914. The last one was in 1952. Bailey says state records show 12 of the 31 crosses belong to boys who died from the flu or other illnesses.
Ten crosses belong to eight boys and two staff members who died in a dormitory fire.
Another two crosses belong to two other boys; one drowned and the other fell off a mule.
One cross is for a boy murdered by other students. Another belongs to a runaway who was later found dead.
FDLE says five other crosses mark the lives of five boys who died in the early 1900s. There is no cause of death listed in their records.
"There is no evidence in any of these cases to suggest that the school or staff made any attempt to conceal any of the deaths. Further, there is no evidence to suggest that the school or staff caused or contributed to any of these deaths," says Bailey.
Roger Kiser told First Coast News last November, "I saw one of them murdered."
Kiser says he has never been interviewed in the investigation. Kiser released a statement to First Coast News Friday afternoon stating the State releasing names of those who died means nothing.
Kiser says, "My personal feeling is that the State of Florida does not want to know the truth. It is just too horrible a tragedy for the general public to learn about."
FDLE says it has talked to dozens of former school workers and students. And the case is closed. "We found no student who had specific knowledge of any unexplained death or burial at this site."
FDLE says it did not exhume the bodies because there was enough information on those who died to know the cause of death.
While this part of the investigation is closed, the state says it is still looking into the allegations of abuse.
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