Fragments of 10-20 human skulls have been found in a burned-out home in a small city in New Mexico after the person who lived there tossed bones out of a automobile whereas hitching a trip. In accordance with the New York Instances, the police made the grisly discovery earlier this month at a residence in Jal “related to rumours of human stays”. The Lea County sheriff, Corey Helton, mentioned the investigators have despatched the fragments to a state lab for testing any potential identification, which may take as much as a month. For now, investigators do not know if the bones had been historical or in the event that they may very well be linked to any lacking individuals or murder circumstances, he added.
However investigators are “actively analyzing the chance that some, if not all, of the human stays might have been bought on-line,” the sheriff’s workplace continued, per New York Instances. “All the things is predicated on what we discover out from the anthropologist, which is able to dictate what course we go,” Sheriff Helton mentioned.
In accordance with the New York Put up, authorities started investigating after they obtained a name from a resident who reported an “unsettling encounter” whereas providing somebody a trip on November 5. The resident claimed that the passenger, recognized as Cecil Villanueva, “made alarming statements” and threw objects from his automobile – a few of which “gave the impression to be human bones,” police mentioned.
Cops searched the realm close to a comfort retailer and located bone fragments {that a} pathologist confirmed as human. Authorities then searched Villanueva’s dwelling the next day and found extra bone fragments, together with a part of a cranium and jawbone. Police acknowledged that “10-20” human skulls had been found throughout a second search of the home three days later.
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Sheriff Helton mentioned that investigators at the moment are exploring whether or not a few of the cranium items may be linked to the disappearance of a Jal resident, Angela McManes, who was final seen in Could 2019. She reportedly lived on the identical road because the property the place the bone fragments had been found. However the sheriff’s workplace mentioned that, thus far, “there doesn’t seem like a hyperlink” to Ms McManes, past the proximity of her dwelling to the property the place the cranium fragments had been discovered.
“Authorities are working diligently to find out the connection between the stays and McManes, in addition to different attainable victims,” the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.
Cecil Villanueva has been charged with felony trespass, a misdemeanour. He’s in custody on the Lea County Detention Middle, officers mentioned.