HORRIFIC

California Woman Finds Human Remains in Backyard While Burying Pet

The victim has not yet been identified.

Police in California are investigating a possible homicide after a Modesto woman found human remains in her backyard while attempting to bury her dead pet on Saturday afternoon, authorities said. Detectives were first alerted to the remains in the mid-afternoon, according to a release from the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, but spent all night carefully exhuming the body to avoid destroying any evidence. The remains have not yet been identified, but a spokesman for the local sheriff’s department said that it appeared the body had only been buried for months, rather than years. Authorities plan to perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.