Van Nuys Mystery : Human Skull No Homicide, Detectives Say

A human skull unearthed by a gardener in the front lawn of a Van Nuys home is not part of a murder mystery, Los Angeles police said Thursday. But it is still a mystery.

“It is not a homicide--at least a recent one,” Detective Mel Arnold said. “It is more of an archeological find. It is apparently quite old.”

The skull, which has only one tooth and no lower jaw, was found May 4 when gardener Manuel Gonzalez was digging a 12-inch-deep trench for a sprinkler in the sandy soil in front of a home in the 14000 block of Strathern Street. Police dug around the skull but found no other bones.

Studies of the skull, which had turned dark with age, by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office and a Cal State Fullerton anthropologist found no evidence of homicide.

“We don’t have any reason or information to believe there is foul play involved,” said Tony Hernandez, a spokesman for the coroner’s office.

But therein lies the mystery. With only a skull and a tooth to work with, experts have not been able to determine characteristics of age, sex or how it got to where it was found.

Forensic anthropologist Judy Suchey of the university wrote in a report on her examination of the skull that it did not appear to be as old as bones of prehistoric American Indians that have been unearthed in the Los Angeles area. But, she said, the skull has some of the general features of a prehistoric female Indian.

Suchey’s report noted that there also was a possibility the skull could have belonged to an Oriental man.

Though the origin of the skull is unknown, Arnold said it is no longer the concern of the police, and the case is closed.

“It is just one of those strange things, but we aren’t going to do anything more with it,” he said.

Alberto Alvarado, 24, who owns the home where the skull was found, was relieved to learn the case was not considered a homicide. Murder or not, he said he isn’t superstitious about what was beneath his front yard either.

“It is just one of those things that happens to maybe one in a million people,” he said. “There is no uneasiness about it. There are no doors in the house that are shutting by themselves or anything.”