WGNO

Unidentified skull found near Slidell headed to LSU for forensic identification

SLIDELL, LA.- A skull found in a wooded area near Slidell earlier this month is now headed to LSU.

St. Tammany Parish Coroner Dr. Charles Preston hopes that the Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services or FACES Lab on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus may be able to shed some light on the identity of the mysterious skull.

Dr. Preston says that the skull shows no obvious signs of trauma, but that it has been exposed to the elements for a “considerable amount of time.”

Preston says that the anthropologists at the FACES Lab will do a reconstruction of the face, and when finished, will extract a tooth to be sent back to the Parish’s DNA lab for testing.

He went on to say that there are some open missing persons cases in St. Tammany Parish, but unless DNA matching or other forensic proof becomes available, the skull can not be connected to any of these cases with at this time.

The investigation remains open.