Woman Charged in Head Smuggling
MIAMI — A Haitian national who had a skull packed in her suitcase on a flight to Florida’s Fort Lauderdale airport was charged Friday with “smuggling a human head.”
U.S. prosecutors said they also charged Florida resident Myrlene Severe, who was arrested Thursday, with failing to declare the head on a customs declaration form and transporting hazardous material.
“Severe stated that she had obtained the package, which contained the human head, from a male in Haiti for use as a part of her voodoo beliefs,” the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement.
“Severe also stated that the purpose of the package was to ward off evil spirits,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.
The prosecutor’s office said bail was set at $100,000.
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