The donation sorters at an Austin, Texas area Goodwill Thrift Store were rather shocked this past August 28th when they found a human skull in a container of miscellaneous donations. Since skeletons and human remains are not part of the fare normally received at Goodwill, it was no surprise that the folks at Goodwill called the police right away.
Austin police investigators have already said at this point they do not suspect foul play, but they are curious why the skull ended up as a charitable donation. They have in fact called for assistance from the public in locating the person or persons who donated the anatomical specimen. I hope the police are not premature in deciding that no foul play was involved. After all, a person can only be separated from his or her head by some serious accident OR by "foul play." The police may be operating under the assumption that whoever had the skull had a legitimate reason for owning said skull. I suppose it is along the same line as keeping a relative's ashes after cremation. But it may be also that someone has provided evidence in a missing person case, as well.
The most surprising thing to me is that this is the fourth skull that has been "donated" to Goodwill this year. It turns out that three skulls were similarly donated to the Goodwill Thrift Store in Bellevue, Washington. Police there also stated they did not suspect foul play. Police officials said that two of the skulls were obviously parts of "clinical skeletons" that were used for medical education. The third was that of a Native American and was believed to be as old as one hundred years. While they may never learn who donated the skulls, the police were able to get the Native American skull to a tribal council in Washington state which would presumably be able to render proper respect to the remains, possibly even locating the tribe and family and returning the skull for traditional burial.
As the story of these grotesque donations becomes common knowledge around the country, I suppose it is not inconceivable that serial killers and criminal gangs will start dropping off all or part of their victims at their nearest Goodwill Store. And in this new climate of human remains donations, I suppose if you have a skeleton, literally, in your closet, this might be the time to donate it to charity, as well. Just don't ask for a receipt for income tax purposes!
Austin police investigators have already said at this point they do not suspect foul play, but they are curious why the skull ended up as a charitable donation. They have in fact called for assistance from the public in locating the person or persons who donated the anatomical specimen. I hope the police are not premature in deciding that no foul play was involved. After all, a person can only be separated from his or her head by some serious accident OR by "foul play." The police may be operating under the assumption that whoever had the skull had a legitimate reason for owning said skull. I suppose it is along the same line as keeping a relative's ashes after cremation. But it may be also that someone has provided evidence in a missing person case, as well.
The most surprising thing to me is that this is the fourth skull that has been "donated" to Goodwill this year. It turns out that three skulls were similarly donated to the Goodwill Thrift Store in Bellevue, Washington. Police there also stated they did not suspect foul play. Police officials said that two of the skulls were obviously parts of "clinical skeletons" that were used for medical education. The third was that of a Native American and was believed to be as old as one hundred years. While they may never learn who donated the skulls, the police were able to get the Native American skull to a tribal council in Washington state which would presumably be able to render proper respect to the remains, possibly even locating the tribe and family and returning the skull for traditional burial.
As the story of these grotesque donations becomes common knowledge around the country, I suppose it is not inconceivable that serial killers and criminal gangs will start dropping off all or part of their victims at their nearest Goodwill Store. And in this new climate of human remains donations, I suppose if you have a skeleton, literally, in your closet, this might be the time to donate it to charity, as well. Just don't ask for a receipt for income tax purposes!
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