Dog finds skull in Southwest Dallas field
Dog finds skull in Southwest Dallas field Neighbors say it appears to have come from human 02:50 PM CST on Saturday, December 8, 2007 By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News tellis@dallasnews.com A dog found a skull that appears to have come from a human Saturday morning in southwest Dallas field, police and neighbors said. Police and the Dallas County Medical Examiner were called to the 5300 block of Turnout Lane around 10 a.m. Saturday. The dog, a black Labrador mix, brought the skull to his owner from a field of 4-foot-tall grass across the street from his house, said a husband and wife, who did not want to be named. The couple called police for the dog's owner after looking at the skull and some other bone pieces that were as small as wood chips found in the area. The wife, who is a nurse at Parkland Memorial Hospital, said she believed the skull came from a human and still had some brown hair on it. Police marked spots where other bone pieces were found with pink flags. A couple of weeks ago, a man's body was found in the street about one block from where the skull was discovered. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/120907dnmetskullfound.7dd5f330.html

Discovered skull in Dallas provides clues to possible murder 05:04 PM CST on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 By STEVE THOMPSON / The Dallas Morning News stevethompson@dallasnews.com The human skull found this weekend in a Southwest Dallas field belongs to a 30- to 40-year-old woman who was likely a murder victim, police said. “I can’t honestly tell you whether or not the person was killed here or at another location,” said Dallas police homicide Lt. Craig Miller, standing Tuesday by a dirt clearing littered with old mattresses, a recliner and other abandoned junk in the 5300 block of Turnout Lane. The evening before, a search dog led police to the clearing from where the skull was found on Saturday, about 150 yards away. In and around the clearing, investigators found bones, clothes and other evidence – including a pair of women’s size 7 and 1/2 athletic sneakers – that have convinced them someone killed the shoes’ owner and left her body there. Police theorize animals separated the skull from where other bones were found. “There are a lot of animals that are going to be out here at nighttime, coyotes, different sorts of carnivores,” the lieutenant said. He said the medical examiner thinks from the condition of the skull that it likely was there anywhere from 10 days to 40 days. The woman was probably as tall as 5 feet 4 inches, he said. Police hope dental records can help them identify her. “It’s obvious this person has taken care of their teeth,” Lt. Miller said. The lieutenant gave credit to the search dog and his handlers for supplying investigators with a major break in the case. The blue Doberman pincer named Dante works with Search One, a volunteer search and rescue team that helps law enforcement and fire rescue agencies. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/121207dnmetskull.7908576.html