JAL, NM – Researchers have found evidence of 10 to 20 human skulls at a property near far southeastern New Mexico.

Lea County Sheriff Corey Hilton says his team has sent the skull fragments to be analyzed. While one person involved in this case remains behind bars, the sheriff wants the community to be patient and wait for the truth to come out.

“It could be a day, it could be a week, it could be several months,” Hilton said. ‘We’re just waiting for them to tell us what they found. I know our viewers are concerned, but I can tell you: there is no serial killer on the loose.”

According to the sheriff’s office, investigators discovered bone fragments, including parts of a skull and jawbone, while investigating a property in early November.

Fragments is the key word.

“We’re not talking about ten or twenty intact, fully joined skulls. These are pieces, pieces that the forensic anthropologist estimates between 10 and 20 people,” said Lea County Sheriff Corey Hilton.

Hilton says the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque is analyzing the evidence. They are working to identify possible victims and see if any of them are Angela McManes, who was last seen near the property in 2019.

“That’s our focus, her whereabouts. Researchers have worked tirelessly on this. We are following guidance from the state and the state, and we will leave no stone unturned until we get an answer,” Hilton said.

Although there are no active suspects, 28-year-old Cecil Villaneuva is at the center of this case.

He was reportedly staying at the property where the skulls were found when a driver giving Villanueva a ride reported him for making alarming statements and throwing what appeared to be human bones out of a car window.

“Numerous people in Jal, including police, knew this man had human bones,” Hilton said.

But that is not enough to consider him a suspect in this case.

“One of my lead officers looked it up online, and you can buy bones offline, and skulls offline,” Hilton said.

The sheriff says that means he will have to wait for medical examiners to finish their work.

“We’re basically talking blind until we get their report,” Hilton said.

Hilton confirmed that Villaneuva is behind bars on an unrelated charge in the case.

While his office is still waiting on that OMI report, he is asking anyone with information about this case, or any other missing persons they don’t know about, to call the Lea County Sheriff’s Office.