The story of the human skull discovered by a pair of hikers in the region of Haenertsburg a week ago has caused quite the stir among the local true crime lovers. The police have not released any statements on the discovery as yet, but this has not placed a damper on the speculations in the slightest.
Online sleuths have come up with some fantastic possibilities which would make even the renowned author and forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs, crack a smile.
One of my personal favourites is the idea that perhaps the skull was not in fact organic and instead a movie prop from the local produced Afrikaans film “Donkerbos” which was just recently shot in the area.
Another more interesting idea could be that perhaps it once belonged to a victim of ritual or muti killings and that the heavy trucks which often accompany a camera and production crew could have unearthed it during their shoot.
I for one don’t think this is either of the above. Perhaps given my propensity towards horror novels and my love of a good conspiracy, the notion of a serial killer in the midst whose bone yard has accidentally been exposed seems a lot more attractive.
I tell you why I like this theory.
About two years ago two similar skulls were discovered in the bushes a meter away from a frequently traveled dirt road near the new Tzaneen prison. Remember? Anyway, there were some striking resemblances between those skulls and the Haenertsburg one. The most obvious being that all three of them were missing a skeleton. It was apparent that the prison skulls were not from a victim in the immediate vicinity as they were found lying on top of the long Lantana creepers in a plastic bag which had the modern OK Stores logo printed on it.
They were moved there from somewhere by someone for an unknown reason.
Two years later the police have no answers.
Think about it.
