MORGAN COUNTY, Tenn. — A skull on a fireplace mantel and wearing sunglasses wasn’t a Halloween decoration. Law enforcement in Tennessee said the skull was real and was actually the remains of a man who had been missing since 2012.
District Attorney General Russell Johnson said the skull was found last year, but the sheriff’s office was only told about the skull this year, WVLT reported.
Johnson didn’t disclose any additional information as to why the skull was in the unidentified person’s home, WBIR reported.
Johnson’s office said that a search for additional remains turned up nothing.
Deputies recovered the skull, sending it for DNA testing at the University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology and the Knox County Regional Forensics Center.
The skull was identified as Junior Will McCann who was reported missing in September 2012. WVLT reported that it is believed that McCann was killed by a family member, who has since died, Johnson said.