Halloween skull found in Florida thrift store turns out to be human
Shopping for Halloween decorations became a bit too realistic for one shopper who spotted a real human skull on the shelves
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A skull that was on sale in a thrift store as a Halloween decoration turned out to be the real deal, after an anthropologist recognised it as belonging to a human.
The anthropologist, who happened to be shopping in the store in the North Fort Myers area of Florida, spotted the human skull casually on display waiting to be purchased in the Halloween section of the store.
Recognising it as the real article, authorities were called to the store.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that detectives responded and recovered the skull, later confirming that the item was indeed human.
The store owner told police that the skull had been found in a storage unit that they had bought years ago.
While the police do not believe the case is suspicious, they will be working with the local medical examiner’s office to conduct further tests on the skull.
In Florida, it is illegal to knowingly sell or buy any human organ or tissue for valuable consideration; this also includes bones.
In September, another human skull was found by store employees in a Goodwill donation box in Arizona.
That skull, which had a false eye in its left socket, was seized by police, but they concluded it was not associated with any crime.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments