'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAk98I/8QAIBAAAAUDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBCIABUEHExQyQv/aAAgBAQABPwDTBw5Y2y5FYkKUyizbdXUNEO0YyrkJ+4nyAYGv/8QAFBEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/aAAgBAgEBPwB//8QAFBEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/aAAgBAwEBPwB//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On the April 9 episode of Rewind with Karen & Georgia, the companion podcast to the true crime series My Favorite Murder, hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark revisited a 2016 case from Sacramento. The case involved a woman seen walking through a neighborhood while carrying a human skull on a stick.
The incident was first covered in Episode 40: Squad Gourds. Karen described it as:
“You don’t forget once you hear it.”
Meanwhile, Georgia called it:
“One of the most shocking images we’ve ever talked about on this show.”
My Favorite Murder hosts discuss possible motive and media exaggeration
During the My Favorite Murder podcast, the hosts talked about the woman’s potential motives and the social issues surrounding her behavior. Karen speculated that the woman might have been nonverbal or unable to fully explain what she had discovered.
Trending
“Maybe she knew there would be a communication problem if she said, ‘I found a dead body,’” Karen said.
Georgia added that the act of carrying the skull may have seemed like the fastest, most effective way for the woman to report what she had found without physically touching the remains.
She also emphasized that the woman’s homelessness and potential mental health issues may have influenced her behavior.
They also discussed that although the image was shocking, the woman’s decision ultimately served a purpose. It helped uncover a death that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Despite the appalling nature of the act, the hosts emphasized that it led to an important discovery.
“She decided to put a head on a stick and walk up the street. And yeah, it worked,” Georgia remarked.
They also criticized the media’s handling of the story on My Favorite Murder, with Georgia noting how sensational headlines amplified the horror:
“It’s not going to be as totally nightmare-town as it seemed,” she said, referencing how the event was initially reported.
Sacramento police uncover body after skull sighting
According to The Independent, the Sacramento Police Department launched an investigation in 2016 after witnesses reported seeing a woman walking with a human skull on a stick in a residential area.
Police located the woman and followed her to an abandoned property on the 2900 block of Connie Drive. Inside the home, officers found a decomposing body.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office later identified the remains as 26-year-old Kyle Deza. Authorities stated that Deza had likely died inside the house weeks or months earlier, but the exact cause and manner of death were not publicly disclosed, per The Independent.
The woman, believed to be experiencing homelessness, was not arrested or charged. She fully cooperated with authorities, and officials did not suspect her of foul play. Her identity was never released to the public.
The case has remained open-ended, and the circumstances of Deza’s death are still unknown.
On My Favorite Murder podcast, Karen and Georgia acknowledged that while the woman’s behavior seemed extreme, it ultimately led to the recovery of a body that might have otherwise gone undiscovered.
The case remains one of Sacramento’s strangest true crime stories, with many unanswered questions surrounding Deza’s death.
If you’re fascinated by real-world mysteries and the connection between people and the unexpected, don’t miss this story on My Favorite Murder about a woman who believes her cat sensed her brain tumor before doctors did.
