Buried Human Skull Discovered at Van Nuys Home

A gardener digging a hole for a sprinkler system found a human skull buried in the front yard of a Van Nuys home Wednesday night, Los Angeles police said.

Sgt. John Deamicis said the skull was found about 6 p.m. in the 14000 block of Strathern Street. Few details were available, but the residents of the house are not considered suspects in the case, he said.

Alberto Alvarado, owner of the house, said his gardener “thought it was a big rock or something” when his shovel struck the skull buried in the center of the yard. “He was really surprised,” Alvarado said.

The gardener, Manuel Gonzalez, did not tell Alvarado’s mother, who was home at the time, what he had found, but did tell her to call police, Alvarado said. Then he called Alvarado.

Alvarado said the skull was lying face down about a foot under the ground. The lower jaw was missing and it had only one tooth, he said. Deamicis said investigators dug around the skull but did not find other bones.