Investigators find more bones at site

Officials consider the death a homicide.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET, Times Staff Writer
Published September 26, 2007

Hillsborough County Sheriff's investigators sift inch by inch through soil to search for evidence in a construction site at US Highway 92 and Parsons Avenue in Seffner. A skull was discovered by construction workers.
	[SKIP O'ROURKE | Times]

SEFFNER - For years the placid orange grove in south Hillsborough kept its secret - a body buried in the sand, with long auburn hair, two gold teeth and a blanket for a shroud.

No one noticed, until Monday afternoon when a construction crew preparing the property for a Circle K store dug up a human skull at the southwest corner of U.S. 92 and Parsons Avenue.

Homicide detectives, Medical Examiner's officials and a forensic anthropologist from the University of South Florida sifted through the dirt Tuesday.

By late afternoon, they had uncovered half a skeleton, Hillsborough County Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. But they had not determined the identity of the body or how long it had been underground.

"Because of the clandestine grave site, we are treating it as a homicide," Carter said.

Preliminary forensic analysis indicates the body was that of a white woman in her early to mid 30s with shoulder-length auburn hair. But that description could change with further study, Carter said.

Investigators also found two gold teeth in the lower jaw. The body was wrapped in a blanket.

Carter would not discuss any clothing or other clues the grave contained. "There were other items found, but we're not talking about what they were," she said.

The excavation was complicated by the fact that dirt for the construction had been piled on the burial site.

Carter said Hillsborough sheriff's detectives have informed other agencies and identified two missing people that may match the profile.

A forensic dentist will examine the teeth and compare them with dental records of missing people, Carter said.

Detectives think the remains had been there for "quite some time," Carter said.

Construction crews from MDM Services found the skull about 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Erin Kimmerle, a visiting assistant professor of anthropology at USF, helped detectives use archaeological techniques to uncover more remains.

"If you're looking for graves 1,000 years old or a year old, the methods work," she said.

Crews began clearing the property about two weeks ago, according to Julie Boyce-Rickman, 39.

For 40 years, her family has owned Boyce Paint and Body Shopacross the street from the Circle K site on U.S. 92.

"It's just crazy. We don't know what to think," she said. "I'm trying to think if I knew anyone who matched that description."

Times photographer Skip O'Rourke and Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 813 661-2454.

[Last modified September 25, 2007, 23:03:00]