This human skull was found in the attic of Paul and Karen Dupaix’s Tooele home on June 23. The Dupaixs were having their roof redone when construction workers discovered the skull.
-- photography / Troy Boman
-- photography / Troy Boman
The Dupaix family discovers they will not be returning to their home anytime soon while talking with Lt. Paul Wimmer of the Tooele Police Department on June 23. Pictured (l-r) are Katrina, Alex, Lisette, Dallin, Michelle, and their parents, Karen and Paul Dupaix.
-- photography / Troy Boman
-- photography / Troy Boman
“We know for sure that this individual was a Native American, and the skull appears to be female, but we’re not entirely sure of that,” said Assistant State Archaeologist Ron Rood. “We don’t know exactly how long ago this person lived, but my gut feeling from just looking at the skull is that it’s really, really old — very likely over 100 years.”
The skull was found in the century-old home of Paul and Karen Dupaix on 100 South last Monday by a crew remodeling the roof.
The Utah State Medical Examiner’s office released the skull to the State Archaeology Lab for further testing after concluding that the death of the unknown individual may have happened long before her or his most recent resting place was constructed, according to Rood.
The State Archaeology lab plans to use radio carbon dating to get exact results on the age of the skull, but those results won’t come back for a month.
Officials are still baffled as to where the skull came from and how it found its way into the Dupaixs’ attic.
As for the Dupaixs, they just hope their house hasn’t been tainted by the discovery as they prepare to sell it.
“It’s a little worrisome to think that we might have a hard time selling our house,” said Karen Dupaix. “We know it’s cadaver-free. No one died here. It’s just a great house, but we’ve got some fixing up to do before we put it on the market.”
ntripp@tooeletranscript.com
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