Human head found in a box on Chicago street; investigation underway

A human head was discovered in a box on the west side of Chicago, a city in Illinois, US, on Thursday evening. Police were called to the 2600 block of West Taylor Street around 6 pm after a passerby found the box while walking on the sidewalk.

The passerby initially believed the human remains inside the box were a Halloween decoration, but he soon realised it was a real human head.

The Chicago Police Department confirmed the discovery, saying, as quoted by The Independent, "A man walking a dog on the sidewalk discovered a box containing an unknown victim’s remains."

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office was also notified and confirmed the remains were a human head. An autopsy has been conducted, but results are still pending regarding the cause of death and identification details, including age, gender, and race.

In a related incident earlier this week, Illinois State Police reported that skeletal remains were found near the Kennedy Expressway at Webster Avenue in Bucktown. The identity of that victim also remains unknown.

Authorities are investigating both cases.