Homeless man’s death
sparks interest

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

He laid down on a park bench between Bridge and Pratt streets on March 1 and never woke up.
Six months later, he remains a "John Doe" at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s office.
Now, a Frankford resident wants to help the city find the identity of the homeless man known as "Paul with the cart."
The few details known about Paul reveal that he was a fixture of sorts at SEPTA’s Frankford terminal. Before the facility’s recent renovations, the middle-aged vagrant reportedly worked at a newsstand there. In recent years, he spent his days pushing his cart around the area.
"I knew him just in passing," said Tara Lynn. "I’d give him a dollar here and there."
Lynn says Paul never caused trouble. The medical examiner’s office has confirmed that the man had no criminal record, and an autopsy showed that he died of natural causes.
Steve Olszewski, a forensic investigator in the medical examiner’s office, has tried to reach out to the community and even posted some information about Paul on Phillyblog.com
But so far, he’s been unable to find the man’s last name or his next of kin. He’s unearthed no missing person reports and believes instead that Paul was a longtime Frankford resident.
"We still have him as an unknown," Olszewski said.
Bodies brought to the medical examiner are usually identified within a matter of hours by fingerprint matches or through dental and surgical records. When investigators can’t identify a person by those methods, they may turn to the public for help. According to the office’s Web site, more than a dozen individuals found decreased throughout the city remain unidentified.
Paul is described as a white male between 55 and 65 years old. He was 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed about 157 pounds and had gray-blue eyes and black, slightly gray hair. He was found wearing a thermal top, shirt, coat, jacket, belted jeans, two pairs of socks, Texas steer boots, a knit cap, gloves, scarf and handkerchief.
Lynn plans to continue combing the community for information on the nameless man who watched tens of thousands of travelers come in and out of Frankford’s terminal each day.
"It’s so sad, not knowing his name, but knowing his face," she said.
Anyone with information about Paul is asked to call Olszewski at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office at 215-685-7445. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com