Tree Planters Joke Of Finding Gold In Ridgewood Yard -- Find Skull Instead

Landscaping contractor Alex Kaplan and his crew had just been joking about finding a million dollars or gold bullion while planting trees in a Ridgewood homeowner’s backyard last week when one of the diggers suddenly shouted: “Cabesa!”

Alex Kaplan and his Kaplan Landscaping crew unearth bizarre find.
Photo Credit: *COURTESY: Kaplan Landscaping*

Jerry DeMarco

06/25/2018 6:22 p.m.

More precisely: A human skull.

“We were on the seventh tree when one of the workers yelled,” the owner of Hillsdale-based Kaplan Landscaping said. “We were talking about a million dollars or gold bullion, and we found a skull instead."

They immediately called police to the Spencer Street home.

Forensic scientists will need to determine the skull’s age, which looks to be at least 10 years "and could be closer to 100," Police Chief Jacqueline Luthcke said.

How it got there no one knows, but there doesn't initially seem to be any signs of foul play, the chief said.

"There are many theories on what could have happened,” she said, “but we're unable to know for sure right now.”

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