KINGSTON, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) – A forensic anthropology report has provided answers in the mystery surrounding a box of human bones discovered inside a Kingston rental property’s garage, concluding the remains came from at least five different individuals and were most likely used for medical education.
The investigation began July 10, when property managers cleaning out a home on West Ridgecrest Drive after a tenant moved out found a cardboard box containing bones in a garage storage area. Authorities were immediately contacted.
Detectives with the Kingston Police Department and Roane County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Boduch responded to the scene and confirmed the remains were human. Among the items recovered were seven cervical vertebrae, or neck bones, that had been carefully wired together.
According to investigators, the home’s 80-year-old owner, who now lives in Georgia, said he had known about the bones since childhood. He told police they were believed to belong to a Cherokee individual whose remains were reportedly recovered from a cave in Overton County decades ago. The homeowner also said he believed the skull associated with the collection had been donated years earlier to the University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology.
However, a detailed forensic analysis conducted by Dr. Murray Marks and Dr. Daniel Franklin at the Knox County Regional Forensic Center reached a much different conclusion.
Anthropologists determined the box did not contain a single skeleton. Instead, the remains represented a minimum of five individuals, including both adults and adolescents.
The report found extensive evidence of anatomical preparation. Investigators said nearly every bone examined displayed fine cut marks and scoring consistent with manual defleshing using a scalpel. Combined with the wired vertebrae, those findings strongly suggest the remains were part of an anatomical teaching collection used in medical or educational settings.
The analysis also revealed one set of remains, identified as an adult female estimated to have stood about 5 feet 3 inches tall, showed staining patterns consistent with an embalmed coffin burial. Experts said that evidence suggests at least some of the remains may have been exhumed long ago before becoming part of the collection.
In addition to the human remains, anthropologists identified two bones in the box as animal remains, including part of a rib and a fragment of a long bone.
Investigators said the findings indicate the remains are historical teaching specimens and do not appear connected to a recent crime or to Native American ancestral remains.
According to an addendum included in the report, officials have contacted the University of Tennessee Repatriation Office to discuss possible curation, appropriate disposition of the remains, and whether DNA or ancestry testing should be considered.
The investigation remains focused on determining the most appropriate final handling of the historical collection.
