Woman arrested for carrying human head

[cslewis]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Airport baggage screeners found a human head with teeth, hair and skin in the luggage of a woman who said she intended to ward off evil spirits with it, authorities said Friday.

Myrlene Severe, 30, a Haitian-born permanent U.S. resident, was charged Friday with smuggling a human head into the U.S. without proper documentation.

Customs and Border Protection officials found the head Thursday, after Severe arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on a Lynx International Airlines flight from Cap Haitien, Haiti, said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami.

"It still had teeth, hair and bits of skin and lots of dirt," Gonzalez said.

Severe told authorities she had obtained the package in Haiti for "use as a part of her voodoo beliefs," ICE Special Agent Erick Hernandez wrote in an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint.

"Severe also stated that the purpose of the package was to ward off evil spirits," Hernandez wrote.

Severe, who also was charged with failing to declare the head and transporting hazardous material in air commerce, faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted of all charges, prosecutors said.

Severe remained held Friday in lieu of a $100,000 bond. She is due back in federal court March 2.

What horrible religious discrimination...

[EDIT] not the same story, but it says the same thing... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/national/12skull.html

 

[yankeefan24]

where did she get the hed??? the should charge her with murder and delivering a severed body part into the US.

EDIT: i mean HOW did the people she got the head from get it???

 

[DavidCL23]

where did she get the hed??? the should charge her with murder and delivering a severed body part into the US.

EDIT: i mean HOW did the people she got the head from get it???

Sounds like they dug up a recent grave!

 

[Sharewaredemon]

Her last name is one letter off of Sever, that's rather Severe.

I'm thinking BS?

Or just a coincidence?

 

[mcarnes]

I guess the woman just loves head.

 

[MacFan782040]

I guess the woman just loves head.

yay for those women

 

[Johnny Rico]

they should charge her with murder and delivering a severed body part into the US.

I have a sack of weed. Does that mean I grew the weed? Just because someone has a severed body part doesn't mean they killed the person that it used to belong to.

 

[kiwi-in-uk]

It didn't ward off the evil baggage screening spirits.
Might have been too fresh.

 

[frankblundt]

we wouldn't have let it in here either - no meat products permitted, or dirt (or vegetable matter) - strictly a biosecurity issue. We've exported the odd head in the past, but they're harder to come by now... (and we'd like the old ones back thanks)

 

[iAlan]

Myrlene Severe, 30, a Haitian-born permanent U.S. resident, was charged Friday with smuggling a human head into the U.S. without proper documentation.

So if she had the proper documentation she could have smuggled it in!

 

[Abstract]

This woman has a severed head in her bag, and she "might" get prison time for not declaring the head? Isn't that the least of their worries?

 

[Black&Tan]

Which evil spirits was she trying to ward off? The previous owner of the head?

Also, charging her with murder is not a stretch, it keeps her in custody until they can find out what happened. I mean, it's not like you can go down to the local "Heads 'R Us" store and pick one up!

 

[Motley]

I have a sack of weed. Does that mean I grew the weed? Just because someone has a severed body part doesn't mean they killed the person that it used to belong to.

When the police find the severed body parts in my freezer, this is the defence I'm going to use

 

[Johnny Rico]

When the police find the severed body parts in my freezer, this is the defence I'm going to use

It doesn't work with cops. Only real people.

 

[Mr. Durden]

Shes just a driven woman, doing whatever she needs to get a head. <ba-dom>

 

[xsedrinam]

Shes just a driven woman, doing whatever she needs to get a head. <ba-dom>

Illegal, Severe head butt. <ba-da-bom>

 

[2nyRiggz]

There are some strange people in the world...wow...soon someone will try to give themself a heart transplant.


Bless

 

[Chaszmyr]

Is there any legal way for someone to have a severed human head in their bag without working in some business that deals with corpses?

 

[shadowmoses]

This thread is useless without pictures.....

 

[Kingsly]

I was in haiti a few years back... its a freaky place. About as close to hell as one can get. There are human sacrifices all the time, and one can always hear the erie sound of voodoo drums echoing from the mountains. Also, being a tropical island, it is strangely dry with very little vegitation. its like a tropical desert. Apparently the people of the island made a 200 year pact with satan in order to beat the french, who were occupying. I doubt they needed satan's help, though.

Oh yes, lets not forget all the armed militants walking around looking rather mean.

 

[yellow]

"Severe also stated that the purpose of the package was to ward off evil spirits," Hernandez wrote.

If it doesn't work against the TSA, then it's not going to work at all, lady.