Months after discovering a human skull connected to an ongoing homicide case, a dog in Birmingham, Alabama, has made another terrifying find by bringing home a human bone. This time, the dog brought back a human lower leg bone called the left tibia. AL News said that the dog’s owner promptly notified local authorities after the shocking discovery on December 12.
The bone is being examined for DNA to see if it belongs to the same person whose skull was found by the same dog in August, Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates confirmed on Friday. An ongoing, unsolved investigation into the case has been rekindled by this new evidence.
When the homeowner’s dog returned with a human skull in August, the inquiry got underway. Authorities began a thorough investigation into the remains’ provenance after this finding.
The case was formally classed as a homicide after medical experts concluded that the skull belonged to a male. No solid evidence has surfaced to identify the victim or provide an explanation for his death, despite the investigation.
As part of the preliminary investigation, forensic experts created a comprehensive DNA profile from the skull and sent it to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national DNA database that compares genetic data with records of known criminals and missing persons.
The victim’s identity is unknown, though, as the database has not yet turned up any matches.
The issue is made more complicated by the recent discovery of the tibia. To ascertain whether the recently discovered bone belonged to the same person as the skull, authorities are testing it using DNA.
It is anticipated that the outcomes of these tests will clarify whether the remains are related or constitute an entirely different case.
In the meantime, investigators have searched the vicinity of the homeowner’s property several times in an attempt to find the bones’ origin. Ground crews, cadaver dogs, and other tools have been used in these searches to comb the surrounding area for more evidence.
The provenance of the remains and the circumstances surrounding the death remain unexplained as no additional remains or clues have been found despite these efforts.
Because of the strangeness of the findings and the dog’s contribution to the evidence’s discovery, the case has drawn both local and national attention.
The fact that CODIS is involved shows how serious the inquiry is, and officials are working very hard to resolve this disturbing issue.
Anyone with information that could help identify the victim or shed light on the homicide is encouraged to come forward as the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office conducts its investigation.
Detectives are dedicated to learning the truth behind these enigmatic and unnerving finds, and the case is still open while police await the results of the DNA test.
“We are working with the owner of the dogs and residents in the neighborhood to better understand the roaming patterns of the dogs in an effort to locate the origin of the remains,” Yates stated.
Residents in the surrounding area have been requested to study security footage and report any strange activity, including any sightings of the dog.