Human skull found for sale in charity shop's Halloween section

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Major Crimes Unit detectives were notified of a skull located at a thrift store in North Fort Myers (Image: Lee County Sheriff’s Office /Facebook)
Major Crimes Unit detectives were notified of a skull located at a thrift store in North Fort Myers (Image: Lee County Sheriff’s Office /Facebook)

A skull believed to be human has been found for sale in the Halloween section of a Florida thrift store.

A shopper found the unusual item in North Fort Myers, Lee County, and when detectives rushed to the shop, they said they determined the skull belonged to a human. According to authorities, the store owner said the skull had been in a storage unit that was purchased years ago.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office said the shopper who spotted the item was an anthropologist. They added further tests will be carried out, but said that officials do not believe the case to be suspicious.

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Human skull found for sale in charity shop's Halloween section qhiquqidzziddeinvIt was discovered by a shopper who happened to be an anthropologist (Lee County Sheriff’s Office /Facebook)

Under Florida law, "no person shall knowingly offer to purchase or sell ... any human organ or tissue for valuable consideration." Eyes, corneas, kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs, pancreas, bones and skin are subject to the rule.

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Lee County Sheriff's Office said: "Today, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit detectives were notified of a skull located at a thrift store in North Fort Myers. The shopper, who happened to be an anthropologist, noticed the skull in the Halloween section and recognised it to be human.

"Detectives responded to the store on North Cleveland Avenue and recovered the skull. Based upon the observations of detectives on scene, the skull is believed to be that of a human.

"The store owner said the skull was located in a storage unit that was purchased in years prior. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office will work in conjunction with the District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office to facilitate further testing of the skull. This case is not suspicious in nature."

Human skull found for sale in charity shop's Halloween sectionDetectives said the skull is believed to be that of a human (Lee County Sheriff’s Office /Facebook)

It comes after a human skull was found in a donation box in a Goodwill store in Arizona in September. Officials said they were investigating the incident, but confirmed the skull did not appear to be linked to a crime.

A picture shared by the Goodyear Police Department shows a browned skull with some upper teeth still remaining and a false eye in the left socket. "It's creepy! That's crazy we come here all the time," two regular shoppers told local Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV.

"After speaking with the Medical Examiner's Office, preliminarily, it appears this human skull is historic and has no forensic significance, meaning there appears to be no associated crime," Goodyear Police said. They added: "So many questions need to be asked. Who was it? Who brought it? Are there cameras? A full-on investigation [is needed] into what happened."

Another regular shopper at the store in Arizona, US, near Sarival Avenue and Yuma Road, said: "I've never found anything remotely close to that. That's really scary." Lisa Berry from the Goodyear Police Department said that the skull was taken to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office. Berry said: "At this point, and this is preliminary, it appears to be historic, ancient, and does not appear to have any forensic value."

Chiara Fiorillo

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