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Medical Examiner's Office Says It Didn't Lose Victim's Skull

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 4, 2008

Updated: 08/04/2008 02:49 pm

TAMPA - It appears the only substantial thing left of Allen E. Garner is his skull.

Investigators aren't even sure why that still exists.

After Garner was murdered in January 2003, his remains – skull included – were sent to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office, Hillsborough deputies say. The office determined his cause of death. In November 2003, Garner's remains were sent to Florida Mortuary Services, and he was cremated.

Somehow, at some point, Garner's skull disappeared.

The skull surfaced weeks ago in a box in the closet of a home in Lealman, an unincorporated enclave north of St. Petersburg. How it wound up there remains a mystery, investigators say.

The medical examiner's office isn't responsible for the disappearance, an office spokesman said this morning. The office determined Garner died of blunt impact head trauma and notified his family, which made arrangements for his remains to be released from the office, office spokesman Dick Bailey said. The remains were released to Florida Mortuary Services' care at 8:25 a.m. Nov. 28, 2003, Bailey said.

"I went to see if there was any indication that the skull was ever separated from the remains, and there wasn't," Bailey said.

Dan Larson, general counsel for Florida Mortuary Services, said Garner's remains had been stored in a box and were cremated Dec. 3, 2003. Larson said there likely is no way to know with any certainty what happened to the skull – or even whether the skull came in the box placed in the company's custody.

"There would have been no reason on our end to even open it, to be honest with you," he said.

Investigators say they have no idea how the skull wound up in Steven Blackwell's Pinellas County home.

Blackwell, 40, of 4550 39th St. N., told investigators he got the skull four or five years ago from his friend "Chuck," Pinellas County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda said.

Blackwell didn't provide a last name for his friend. He said Chuck claimed to have purchased the skull on the Internet.

Blackwell has been behind bars since June 2. He was arrested on several drug charges, including armed possession of cocaine, possession and sale of methamphetamine and possession and sale of marijuana.

Glenn Parker, 34, of St. Petersburg, went to the home June 14 to get some things for Blackwell, Barreda said. He found the skull as he was looking for items, she said.

Parker contacted authorities, and the skull was turned over to medical examiners.

Ronald Rhodes, 44, was convicted of first-degree murder in Garner's death and is in prison, Hillsborough sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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