Police in Wilmington are looking into the possibility that the theft of skulls in recent months from two cemeteries might be tied to a West African religion called Palo Mayombe.
Worshippers of the religion use human skulls for spells and rituals intended to ward off evil or to gain power and wealth.
Last month, grave robbers removed the skull of Helen Bradford from a crypt at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery. She died 59 years ago. Last fall, a skull was taken from a mausoleum at Riverview Cemetery.
Wilmington police Sergeant Robert Emory says he does not believe the thefts are isolated incidents.
Occult researchers say there is an entire network of Palo practitioners between northern New Jersey and Florida. An Irvington, N.J., woman who claims to be a Palo priestess is scheduled to go on trial next month on charges she ordered two followers to steal skulls from cemeteries in Newark, N.J.