Officials identified human remains that were discovered in Reading, Pennsylvania, and the victim’s death has been ruled a homicide.
On Oct. 2, 2026, at 4:46 p.m., police responded to a vacant home along the 500 block of South 6th Street for a security check. When officers arrived, the property owner told them they had discovered what “appeared to be” human remains.
The Berks County Coroner, a forensic pathologist, a forensic odontologist, and two teams of forensic anthropologists from the University of South Florida all worked to identify the remains.
Several families also contacted the coroner’s office with descriptions of missing loved ones after officials announced the remains were found.
On Oct. 14, the Berks County Coroner identified the body as 47-year-old Jose Rodriguez-Figueroa, Jr. of Reading. The Reading Police Department is investigating his death as a homicide.
If you have any information on Figueroa’s death, please contact Reading Police at (610) 655-6116.