Skeleton Found in a Neighbor’s Backyard: Detroit, 2025
How would you react if you discovered a human skeleton in your backyard – or your neighbor’s? If the bones were centuries old, that would be quite the historic find. However, if the bones were from a recently-deceased person, that would be a whole different – and terrifying – experience.
On September 3, 2025, that’s exactly what happened.
A neighbor, who had only lived in the neighborhood for about a month, was noticing a distinct stench coming from somewhere, that he eventually pinpointed coming from his neighbor’s yard. He peered over the fence and saw a skull just lying on the ground. On the CBS News site, he was quoted as saying "I thought it was a dead dog at first. There's been a foul smell over there for about a month, so I finally peered over the gate in the back, and it was a skull in the backyard ... a human head." When the police arrived, they discovered more human skeletal remains.
The bones were determined to be those of an ‘elderly homeowner’, but no identification was given.
Other neighbors mentioned that “the man who lived in this home always displayed unusual behavior and had multiple dogs roaming his house, sometimes running loose.”
As of this writing, there has been no cause of death determination and no identification released. Upon investigation, the house was unoccupied.
Skeleton in the Backyard
More From 99.1 WFMK
