Experts Excavate Skull Site Dirt Where Human Remains Found Sifted For Clues

Spokane detectives and evidence experts are excavating part of a vacant lot where a human skull was discovered Sunday.

A woman walking her dog found the skull near the northwest corner of Seventh and Sherman about 7 p.m. It was lying among some debris at the base of an embankment.

Police sealed off the half-block lot Sunday evening, and investigators arrived Monday morning to sift the dirt for clues.

Detectives found other bones near the skull but don’t know if they all were part of the same body, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

The skull was removed as evidence, and investigators plan to continue searching the site today. “This is a slow process,” Cottam said.

Police don’t know if the skull belonged to a man or a woman, or how long it had been on the lot, Cottam said.

Major crimes detectives are investigating the case as a homicide, although a cause of death has not been determined.

There used to be a church on the lot, and detectives are trying to find out if it operated a cemetery. The former Sharon Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church was razed in 1989 after standing vacant for several years.

The case could be handed to Spokane’s serial killer task force if the body turns out to be that of a murdered woman, Cottam said. The task force is investigating the murders of more than 20 women since 1984, at least seven of whom were killed by the same person.

Neighbors said children sometimes play on the property, which is dotted with old tires, piles of rotting lumber and litter. A tree house and a swing occupy a large tree on the north side of the lot, which is surrounded by houses.

The area where the skull was found was covered with heavy brush until a crew of volunteers cleared it last fall, said Jim Walkup, who lives across the street.

“Up until then, that area back there was pretty secluded,” Walkup said.

Map of area.