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Mystery still surrounds a skull found in the attic of a Tooele home near 200 West and 100 South.
Police say they will be talking to the previous owners' relatives to try to get more answers. The couple who lived there years ago have died. Their son, who did not want to be identified, told Eyewitness News over the phone that he grew up there and would go into the attic, but he and another relative were shocked to hear about the discovery. He said, "I can just remember going out there for some family gatherings and like that. We'd just go out and have a barbecue and things in their backyard."
His aunt and uncle lived in the Tooele home before the new owner moved in eight years ago. The new homeowner never went in the attic; that's where some roofers discovered a human skull.
Tooele Police Capt. Steve Newkirk said, "It was actually pretty much sealed in a portion of the attic that had no access." How it got there and its identity is still much of a mystery.
The previous owners lived there for more than 50 years. The previous homeowners' nephew said, "I have no clue. I had no idea there was anything like that. I have no idea what it would be related to or anything."
Police are still looking at all options from an unsolved crime to a missing person or an artifact. Newkirk said, "There's some indication that the previous owner was into anthropology." Whatever the case, the discovery took the current homeowners by surprise.
Karen Dupaix said, "My husband came and said, ‘There's a skull in the attic. Do you want to come see it? It's got hair and skin on it. It's looking right at you.'"
Cadaver dogs spent the night searching the home for other possible body parts, but nothing was found.
It's a mystery that people with ties to the home, past and present, are eager to learn about. "Yeah, it would be interesting to find out," said the relative of the previous homeowners. His aunt and uncle were not the original owners of that home, which we're told was built in 1910. Medical Examiners have the skull. It could be a few days before they have any information about it.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
