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CLEARFIELD — Police involved in a drug investigation came across human skulls and animal bones allegedly used as part of a religious shrine.
Now investigators and attorneys are trying to decide if the animal carcasses and remains constitute religious freedom or if it is against the law.
The Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force served a warrant Sunday to search a home at 64 N. Lynwood Drive in Clearfield, as part of an ongoing drug distribution investigation.
While there, narcotics detectives discovered at least two human skulls and several hundred pounds of animal bones and flesh in a shed in back, according to Clearfield police. The animals included sheep, goats, lambs and the skulls of several rams, said Clearfield Assistant Police Chief Mike Stenquist.
Roberto Casillas-Corrales, 53, was arrested and booked into the Davis County Jail for investigation of abuse or desecration of a human body. He reportedly told police he bought the human skulls from people who took them from grave sites in Cuba. He told investigators the skulls and animal parts were used for religious purposes.
Neighbors describe Casillas-Corrales as somebody who invites people in for celebrations and aids those in need.
“We’ve had nothing but adoration and praise for them,” John Watkins said of the family.
Next-door neighbor Vince Hall, a disabled veteran, says Casillas-Corrales would help him from time to time. Still, he heard and saw through the fence what he describes as “oddities.”
“There was chanting going on and what seemed to me like sticks or bones being cast upon the floor,” Hall said.
Hall also described a ritual he witnessed, in which dead chickens would be hanging from the corners of the home, and Casillas-Corrales and others would spew alcohol at them.
Police believe Casillas-Corrales purchased the animals locally and sacrificed them in the shed. Stenquist described the shed as a mess of animal flesh, bones and foul stench.
Casillas-Corrales was booked into jail because of the human skulls, according to police. Whether he will be charged in connection with the dead animals is still being investigated.
He told investigators he was a Santeros, or a priest. Santeros are commonly associated with Santeria, a religion originally from Africa, but today is sometimes combined with Catholicism, and in some cases Old World practices such as animal sacrifices.
"We are being careful about his religious rights," Stenquist said. "We've asked for assistance from the Davis County Attorney's Office, the state medical examiner and ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) to determine if it's a practice they're aware of."
News of the skulls unnerved Watkins.
“This is not a graveyard,” the neighbor said. “I don’t see that’s much respect or shows sacredness of how you feel about another human being.”
Stenquist says the medical examiner will do what can be done to identify the skulls or their origin.
Federal ICE agents are aiding in the investigation since Casillas-Corrales is not a U.S. citizen, Stenquist said.
Detectives were also trying to determine Monday how many people lived at the house, how many were just visiting and how many others may have assisted in the religious ceremony.
Police say no drugs were found in the residence.
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