TX TX - Houston, MultFem Adult, UP60541, skull in pot w/crucifix, machete, dagger & dead bird, Jul'19

[Gardener1850]

Grim discovery | Human skull found near crucifix, machete, dagger, dead bird

July 30, 2019

HOUSTON — Investigators searched a wooded area near Clear Lake City and Galveston Road Tuesday after a man discovered a grim scene late Monday.

Houston police say a man named Michael, who asked KHOU 11 News not to show his face, told officers he found what appears to be a human skull in the northwest corner as he was walking down Clear Lake City Boulevard.

Grim discovery | Human skull found near crucifix, machete, dagger, dead bird

Possible human skull found in woods near country club off Gulf Freeway

July 30, 2019

Police are trying to determine how what appears to be a human skull ended up in a wooded area near Clear Lake, about a mile from the Gulf Freeway.

Clear Lake patrol officers responded to the scene Monday night around 11:30 p.m. at Clear Lake City Boulevard and Galveston Road after a man walking in the woods found what appeared to be a human skull.

Police believe the man was walking along the road and decided to take a bathroom break, Lt. Larry Crowson said. That's when he found what he suspected to be human remains and called police.

Possible human skull found in woods near country club off Gulf Freeway

 

[iulia]

NamUs page for this UID The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

#UP60541
Date Body Found July 30, 2019
ME/C Case Number ML19-2554

Sex Unsure
Race/Ethnicity Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Estimated Age Group Adult
Height Cannot Estimate
Weight Cannot Estimate

Circumstances of Recovery Unknown skeletal remains (cranium & mandible only) found within a shattered terra cotta pot in a grassy/wooded area next to the roadway. Various other items were within the pot with the skull including desiccated chicken heads, non-human bones, coins, wooden sticks, cigars, knife, metal crucifix and carved wooden implements.

Condition of Remains Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only

 

[BrownBear]

Now listed on NamUs as Female

 

[JurassicParker]

Anyone well versed in ritualistic killings? Do any of the items found fit any of them?

 

[annpats]

Definitely sounds like some sort of curse breaking or black magic ritual that some African immigrants still partake in. There have been a few crimes like this in London, England.

 

[BigKeyManatee]

Finding iron or terra cotta vessels filled with earth, sticks, animals parts and human skulls points to activity of the Palo Mayombe cult, sometimes called Santeria’s evil twin.

The number of practitioners appears to be increasing in the United States. Santeria and Palo both require animal sacrifice but while Santeria is seemingly trying to brand itself as “life positive,” Palo has no problem embracing the dark and violent side of human nature.

These sacrificial vessels (nagangas) are regularly being found by law enforcement across the country. In Florida this year arrests were made of two Palo Mayombe practitioners who were robbing Veterans’ graves to obtain the skulls for ritual use.

There have been numerous murders committed in Mexico for Palo sacrifice, including the American pre-med student Mark Kilroy (may he R.I.P.)

I don’t believe that any of the human skulls found in these vessels thus far in the U.S. have proven to be anything other than remains stolen from cemeteries, awful enough in itself that may be.
Two Men Are Accused of Stealing Skulls From Florida Cemetery

 

[JurassicParker]

What kind twisted and warped individual would dig up someone’s remains? It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it. I’m not a religious person but even I would expect some hoodoo to be put on someone for disturbing a final resting place.

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

Something about this one doesn't sit right with me. I saw a couple of other UID's similar to this one while browsing NAMUS today and some of the circumstances say that they were "dug up" from shallow graves, etc. like this older one:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
We've also got quite a few others that have threads that are similar - my jaw honestly dropped when I saw the amount of cases here that are just skeletal remains that look like there was some sort of ritual element involved. These are not all of them but here are some that are somewhat close:
FL - FL - Worthington Springs, AsianMale skeletal UP10980, 16-25, found among animal skulls
TX - TX - Anna, AsianFem 19-35, 1648UFTX, Cat and '13' drawn on skull, May'96
NY - NY - Port Jervis, Wht/poss HispFem 25-50, 878UFNY, skull on roof, prominent nose, May'06
CA - CA - Oakland, human skull on paper plate found near Grizzly Peak in Tilden Park, 1 Jan 2014
AL - AL - Prattville, BlkFem 40-60, UP5000, Medallion glued to skull, Sep '07

I wonder if any of these are rituals from similar groups- especially because a lot seem to be either skull only or nonwhite victim.

Specifically I want to point y'all to the cases in Anna and Prattville, which look the most similar circumstance wise to this one and are in a similar geographical area. It also appears that those cases are 10-12 years apart, so I wonder if this could possibly be the work of one person or a group of people that know each other disposing of a "collection" of sorts at intervals. Ugh. Just shuddered typing that out.

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Could it be Maria Elena Jimenez-Rodriguez?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping

 

[AguaFlorida2001]

Specifically I want to point y'all to the cases in Anna and Prattville, which look the most similar circumstance wise to this one and are in a similar geographical area. It also appears that those cases are 10-12 years apart, so I wonder if this could possibly be the work of one person or a group of people that know each other disposing of a "collection" of sorts at intervals. Ugh. Just shuddered typing that out.

I wouldn't say these cases are necessarily connected or that it's an organized group performing them. As someone earlier pointed out, this is without a doubt a Palo Mayombe sacrifice, a form of spirituality (often referred to as witchcraft) popular in Latin America with African roots. Many African-Americans increasingly have become interested in the religion as well due to its ancestral connection to Africa. Being that Houston has such a large Latino population and Black population, it makes sense that this may be connected to Santeria/Brujeria/Lucumi/Palo Mayombe.
****Disclaimer: Not all people who practice spirituality forms like Palo Mayombe resort to such grotesque rituals. I know many people who use it as a form of ancestral connection, spiritual guidance, and manifestation of good without hurting a soul.

JMO MOO YMMV

 

[BigKeyManatee]

I wouldn't say these cases are necessarily connected or that it's an organized group performing them. As someone earlier pointed out, this is without a doubt a Palo Mayombe sacrifice, a form of spirituality (often referred to as witchcraft) popular in Latin America with African roots. Many African-Americans increasingly have become interested in the religion as well due to its ancestral connection to Africa. Being that Houston has such a large Latino population and Black population, it makes sense that this may be connected to Santeria/Brujeria/Lucumi/Palo Mayombe.
****Disclaimer: Not all people who practice spirituality forms like Palo Mayombe resort to such grotesque rituals. I know many people who use it as a form of ancestral connection, spiritual guidance, and manifestation of good without hurting a soul.

JMO MOO YMMV

Thank you for this insightful reply.
If authorities really want to solve this case they will need informers from inside the PM cult. Since these practitioners have clearly embraced the dark side of this religion they are likely involved in other illegal activities, so possibly already on LE’s radar for other crimes.
It would require a law enforcement professional with sufficient knowledge and cultural awareness to ask the right questions to the right people about the local PM cult practices.
That being said, I unfortunately don’t envision them forming a specific task force for this case. If the origin of the skull (RIP) is ever identified, I suspect it would be adjunct to police making arrests in a “larger” case.
MOO

 

[Mskey215]

bumping