3 human skulls donated to Bellevue Goodwill

Three human skulls were donated to a Bellevue Goodwill and the medical examiner’s office hopes to find the anonymous donor.

“The Goodwill in Bellevue received a donation that included three human skulls and they recognized immediately that they were actual human remains,” said King County Forensic Anthropologist, Dr. Kathy Taylor.

According to Taylor, the Goodwill workers did exactly what they were supposed to do: call law enforcement.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office said two of the skulls are adult specimens that were clearly used in a medical clinic or for instruction.

The third skull is very old and appears to be the fragile remains of a Native American child.

The Native American skull must be repatriated to its tribe of origin, according to state law. Additional details are needed to properly identify the correct tribe or tribes.

So far there isn’t any information as to who donated the skulls, or how they came to be in the donator’s possession.

The medical examiner’s office is hoping the citizen who donated the skulls will provide information, without penalty, about the origin of the child’s skull.

Taylor said the incident serves as a reminder to call the police if someone finds a skull or other human remains. She said every once in a while people will find human remains and think it’s fun to take them home.

In one instance, she said citizens eventually turned in a skull months after they found it.

“And it turned out to be a homicide victim. It happens.”

Taylor said to think about it as someone’s body – not a novelty item.

“We just want to remind people that […] you wouldn’t put an arm, or a leg, or an ear on your bookshelf. Why would you put a skull? They’re all body parts. This just happens to be a clean body part. But it’s still somebody’s body.”