After the discovery of the remains of the California man who killed himself using his owned makeshift guillotine in an unusual and macabre case, authorities arrested an alleged squatter who police revealed was the person behind the tampering of the victim's remains.

California Man Dies in His Homemade Guillotine

According to The Guardian, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat mentioned in its report that the California police believed that the victim, Robert Enger, built the contraption at his home in Santa Rosa as early as 2019. The victim's neighbors shared that Enger was friendly and an "unbelievable craftsman."

However, the neighbors mentioned that the California man struggled with mental health problems for many years.

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More Revelations in California Man's Remains

The nature of the victim's death did not become clear until after a woman came across a skull in the bushes near her brother's home. The woman reported the discovery to the police earlier this year.

Moreover, officials determined that the skull had been scraped as they discovered marks on it and a wire handle, which was that of Enger. The 62-year-old California man was last seen alive in July 2019 when he was treated at a local hospital due to an injury in his head.

The California police now suspected that the injury was a result of a failed attempt to use the homemade device. Police also suspected that the victim died by suicide using the contraption. The remains went undiscovered, and his home was empty until a man named Robert Melvin Ross III started squatting there in 2020.

Police alleged that Ross lived in the house despite the presence of the remains of Enger for months. Police also said that the suspect for tampering even invited other individuals in the property for parties and to use methamphetamine.

Based on the report of the Press Democrat, the law enforcement was called to the property on multiple occasions and said that it was "filthy" and "filled with debris, trash, foods, and piles of stuff." Officials added that the invited persons were allegedly not aware that Enger's remains were under the debris.

However, in 2021, a man shared to the police that he was able to attend one of the parties organized by the suspect at the property and saw what he believed were the decomposed remains of a human.

The newspaper reported that the witness said that Ross at one point "proceeded to remove the skull" and scraped it with a knife. Police later found out that Ross told them he had discovered Enger's body at the bottom of the contraption.

Anthony Turner, a violent crimes detective with the Santa Rosa police, said that Robert Enger placed himself under that contraption, manipulated it, and was killed by his homemade device. The detective added that his body was later manipulated by Robert Ross and other individuals.

Furthermore, Ross has been charged with the unauthorized entry of a dwelling and unlawful handling of human remains and pleaded no contest to possession of a memento from human remains but has since asked to withdraw that plea and said he signed it "under duress, meaning the contract is null and void."

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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