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Skulls, Partial Arm And Hand Found In Florida Home After Police Bust Grave Robbers

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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The Lake County Sheriff’s Department has arrested two men who stole skulls from multiple gravesites and had a trove of other body parts at home, according to authorities.

Edgewood Cemetery was the victim of theft on Dec. 6 from unknown individuals, police said. Using DNA found from cigars that were left at the scene of the crime, Lake detectives were able to track down 43-year-old Brian Montalvo Tolentino and 39-year-old Juan Burgos Lopez.

Tolentino admitted to detectives that he and Lopez “used a crowbar to open the vaults and then removed the heads of the deceased.”

Tolentino then admitted to stealing four heads from four different graves before the duo went to Lopez’s residence. Tolentino told police they stole the body parts for “religious practices.”

Polk sheriff’s detectives were able to obtain and execute a search warrant for Lopez’s residence Wednesday night, and uncovered a trove of human remains.

“During the search, detectives located a total of six skulls, a hand, partial arm, and multiple other large bones within what appeared to be some sort of religious shrine.” It is unclear where the other body parts were obtained from. (RELATED: REPORT: Man Finds His Own Stolen Vehicle And Tracks Down The Alleged Thieves. Now, One Of Them Is Dead)

Four of the skulls were from Edgewood Cemetery while Lopez said the other two skulls were from “other practitioners.”

Lopez and Tolentino were arrested on the Lake County warrants by Polk sheriff’s deputies and booked with $40,000 bonds each. Both men have been charged with four counts of Disturbing the Contents of a Grave and four counts of Abuse of a Dead Human Body.

The Daily Caller has reached out to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department but did not receive a response at the time of publication.