Police: Teens stole skull to use as bong

HUMBLE, TX (KTRK) -- Authorities are investigating an admission from theft suspects that they dug up a grave and stole a child's skull. One of the suspects even made the disturbing confession that he and his friends went on to use the skull to smoke marijuana.

Three teens are under arrest, accused of digging up an abandoned grave. Kevin Jones, Matthew Gonzalez and a 16-year-old boy are charged with abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor charge.

Jones was initially arrested on an unrelated theft matter. During the course of that investigation, he reportedly admitted this bizarre crime.

"(He) suggested they had actually dug up a grave in an unrelated incident and ultimately removed the head of a corpse," Houston Police Officer Jim Adkins said. "By what he told me, they turned it into a device used to smoke marijuana, which is referred to as a bong."

Officer Adkins says he doubted the story until a second suspect told him a similar version. A tactical team searched the heavily wooded area north of FM 1960 in Humble, a northern suburb of Houston. After nearly two days of searching, they found the abandoned cemetery.

Out of the more than 50 graves, officers found one they believe the boys disturbed. It belongs to an 11-year-old boy who died in 1921. The headstone was knocked off its base, and the grave consisted of a huge hole filled with rain water.

At this point, police have not recovered any bones or the skull, but they do believe the story is true. They also are trying to locate the family of the deceased 11-year-old whose grave was disturbed.

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local, laura whitley

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