Police find 20 human skulls inside home in grisly discovery as cold case takes major new twist

Police have found up to 20 human skulls inside a home in New Mexico after a man threw the remains out of a car window, according to officials.

Cops said they found the remains while executing a search warrant for Cecil Villanueva, a man made known to authorities by a local resident in the city of Jal. A local resident, who has not been named, offered Villanueva a ride in his car and claimed to have "an unsettling encounter" with him on November 5.

Villanueva was carrying two bags and "made alarming statements" as he "discarded objects from the vehicle, some of which appeared to be human bones," the sheriff's office said. Investigators found bone fragments during the search of the area, and a pathologist later confirmed they were in fact human bones .A second search on November 9 revealed the evidence of 10-20 human skulls, which were taken to the Office of Medical Investigator in Albuquerque for further analysis and identification.

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Police confirmed one of the human skulls could be linked to a missing persons case from 2019. Cops said the case is being "closely tied" to the case of Angela McManes, who went missing in 2019. Officials said McManes' last known residence was "near the property under investigation."

"Authorities are working diligently to determine the connection between the remains and McManes, as well as other possible victims," a police statement said. Officers are also investigating whether there was any foul play associated with the remains.

Sheriff Michael Walker told KRQE that investigators believe the skulls could have been purchased online over several years. Villanueva has not been charged, but was in custody at the Lea County Detention Centre on Wednesday on an unrelated charge of criminal trespass, officials said.

The horrific discovery comes just days after the body of a missing man has been found sticking out from an air conditioning unit. Jonathan Flores, 32, from northwest Harris County in Texas was found on the roof of a building after leaving home on Sunday, November 3.

A missing persons report was filed with law enforcement three days later on Wednesday, November 6, before his body was finally discovered on Friday, November 8, at a business park near the West Sam Houston Parkway.

Initial suggestions claim that the father of two was electrocuted. His friend Christian Briones described the grisly scene to ABC News Eyewitness 13 : "His body was just laying inside the thing he was trying to take something apart”.

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