JAL, New Mexico — A discovery of human remains including multiple skull fragments in Jal, New Mexico was linked to a man identified as Cecil Villanueva.
The Lea County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) confirmed Villanueva's arrest for criminal trespassing, but Sheriff Corey Helton addressed concerns from the public that a serial killer may be responsible.
“The misconception of a serial killer walking around is just not correct," Helton stated to KOB 4 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "We don't believe it's a serial killer. We don't have any evidence to suggest that. And right now, we're just waiting on the forensic anthropologist to one try to assemble these pieces and two to identify."
Social media speculation suggested Villanueva had possession of 10 to 20 skulls, but Sheriff Helton sated that they were pieces or fragments, not fully intact skulls.
The location where Villanueva was residing in was not the only place human remains were found.
“I'm not going to go past what we did on that press release," Helton said. "We will receive information and investigators responded to different locations and found pieces of what appeared to be bone fragments to them. so that's what started it."
The general public was concerned regarding whether this incident is linked to multiple missing persons cases other than Angela McManes, a woman who had gone missing in 2019.
“I know that there's been comments about there's all the missing oil field people," Helton said. "I can't really say what the individual police departments have as far as missing persons, but right now, currently for lee county sheriff's office, the only one we're working right now is Miss McManes and that's our focus is her whereabouts the investigators have worked tirelessly on this.”
To learn more about the case, click here.
If anyone has information related to the case, contact LCSO at 575-396-3611 or Lea County Crime Stoppers at 575-393-8005.