On Jan. 12, the severed head and hands of a human were found in the chest freezer of a Grand Junction home. The home recently changed hands from long-term residents to a new owner intending to renovate the dwelling.
The initial source for the incident was local blogger Anne Landman. Landman reported from multiple Facebook posts which were later corroborated by the Mesa County Sheriff Department (MCSD). The case is currently categorized as an open homicide and “investigators believe this is an isolated incident, and there is no ongoing threat to the community” according to the initial press release.
An update released by MCSD on Jan. 18 further confirmed Landman’s original report. The second press release stated “the human remains found at the address […] on Jan. 12, 2024, are a human head and human hands.”
The home had been occupied since 2006 by a family of three that neighbors identified as hoarders, according to Landman. The new owner initiated a crowdsourced cleanup via Facebook to give the former owner’s possessions away for free to those that could come and haul the items away.
Included amongst the items available was a fully functioning chest freezer. An interested party, while inspecting the freezer, pulled out and then unraveled a large ball of black plastic. Initially, frozen fish filets were uncovered before the head was exposed. The MCSD was immediately dispatched and the home blocked off for investigation. The victim has not yet been identified as the remains are still undergoing confidential testing.
Colorado Mesa University is home to one of the few facilities in the US that conducts research on actual human remains and cadavers. It is the Forensic Investigation Research Station (FIRS) known colloquially as the “body farm.” Director of FIRS, Dr. Melissa Connor, was able to provide some insight on what kind of information will be collected from the testing.
“The coroner and law enforcement will want to identify the body, determine cause of death, and if possible when they died,” said Dr. Connor. “Identification is probably going to be through either DNA or fingerprints. They will take a DNA sample and fingerprints…and run them through databases to see if there is a match.”
“Cause of death can be determined through an autopsy…they may also take tissue samples for toxicology tests to determine if there were any substances in [their] body that might have contributed to [their] death…depending on cause of death, they will determine whether the death was natural, homicide, suicide or accidental,” Connor said.
No further details about the case are being released at this time. However, MCSD did request that if anyone has any information regarding the investigation to submit it to Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Kandyce Stuckenschneider at 970-244-3266.
