Human head found in woman's luggage
A woman faces charges after a US baggage search found a human skull with teeth, hair and skin in her luggage at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Haitian Myrlene Severe, 30, a permanent US resident, arrived from Cap Haitien, Haiti, aboard Lynx International Airlines Flight 210, said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami.
Customs and Border Protection officials “found a human head with organic matter inside of her checked baggage”, ICE Special Agent Erick Hernandez wrote in an affidavit.
Severe told officers “she had obtained the package, which contained the human head, from a male in Haiti for ... use as a part of her Voodoo beliefs. Severe also stated that the purpose of the package was to ward off evil spirits”, Hernandez wrote.
“It still had teeth, hair and bits of skin and lots of dirt,” Gonzalez said.
Severe is charged with smuggling a human head into the US without proper documentation, as well as failure to declare the head and transporting hazardous material in air commerce.
She faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Severe remains in custody.
