Skull Likely used for Voodoo Ritual , Medical Examiner Says
Security Screeners Find Skull In Passenger's Luggage
POSTED: 11:38 am EST February 10, 2006
UPDATED: 3:34 pm EST February 10, 2006
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A human skull found in a woman's luggage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is likely an object used in a voodoo ritual, the Broward County medical examiner said Friday.
The skull was found Thursday night during a bag check in U.S. Customs at the Fort Lauderdale airport. The woman, identified as 30-year-old Myrlene Severe, was on Lynx Air International Flight 203 from Haiti to Fort Lauderdale.
Customs and Border Protection officials "found a human head with organic matter inside of her checked baggage," ICE Special Agent Erick Hernandez wrote in an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint.
Severe told authorities "she had obtained the package, which contained the human head, from a male in Haiti for ... use as a part of her voodoo beliefs. Severe also stated that the purpose of the package was to ward off evil spirits," Hernandez wrote.
"It still had teeth, hair and bits of skin and lots of dirt," said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami.
The medical examiner said the skull was a man's who probably died within the last year or so. It appears the skull was dug up from a grave.
Officials found it in a bag with various fruit and vegetable leaves, a nail and some stones.
"It appears to be something that you use for a voodoo ritual," said Dr. Joshua Perper, Broward County medical examiner. "The other possibility is Santeria but we spoke with some experts in the field who believe this is indeed a ritual object for voodoo. Most likely the person who carried it in the luggage brought it for ritualistic voodoo purposes."
The criminal complaint filed Friday charges Severe with smuggling a human head into the U.S. without proper documentation, failure to declare the head and transporting hazardous material in air commerce.
She faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Severe remained held Friday on a $100,000 bond. She is due back in federal court March 2.
so theres some sort of form to fill out when smuggling a human head into the country? where does one obtain such a form? is there a downloadable .pdf on the customs website?