Buzz
Since its 1981 debut, 'Silence of the Lambs' has solidified its place as a horror masterpiece. The American Film Institute ranks it among the greatest films of all time, and it stands as one of the only three films to take home the prestigious 'big five' Academy Awards: Best Actor, Actress, Director, Movie, and Screenplay.
In a film filled with unsettling scenes, one moment remains particularly chilling. While investigating a storage facility, FBI Agent Clarice Starling stumbles upon a large jar containing a human head. The horrifying discovery shocked the agent—and the audience alike.
While a head in a jar might seem like a cinematic invention, finding human remains in storage units is far from a fictional event. Around the world, numerous cases have emerged where unsuspecting people have found tiny corpses packed into suitcases or military veterans' ashes left on a shelf. From murder to theft, accidents to suicides, violent crime scenes to forgotten stories, storage units have much to reveal. Here are ten of these eerie tales.
10. Abandoned Children
The concept of uncovering something valuable in an abandoned storage unit has fueled the success of TV shows like 'Storage Wars' and 'Auction Hunters.' In these shows, just as in real life, when a storage unit remains unpaid or is abandoned, the facility owners may auction off its contents. Bidders are in the dark about what they might find—whether it’s priceless artwork or jewelry, or just a pile of empty boxes. Occasionally, as seen in a recent case in New Zealand, the discovery can be far more chilling.
On August 11, 2022, a family in Auckland, after taking a chance on an online auction for abandoned storage items, ended up with an unimaginable discovery. They were hoping for something valuable, but instead, they uncovered the remains of two children, likely between five and ten years old, stuffed into suitcases.
Authorities quickly arrived at the scene, and investigators believe the remains had been in the suitcases for several years. While the children's identities have not been publicly disclosed, they have been identified. The case took a significant turn when a South Korean woman was linked to the victims, prompting the involvement of the Korean National Police Agency in the investigation.
9. Cali in the Cage
In another heart-wrenching case involving a child, the remains of five-year-old Cali Anderson were discovered in a plastic drum inside a Sacramento storage unit in May 2018. Police report that Cali had likely passed away around two weeks before her body was found. In an arrest affidavit, Anderson’s stepmother revealed that the little girl had been suffering from health issues, but as she wasn’t her biological child, the stepmother did not seek medical care for her.
After Cali’s death, her body was placed in a duffel bag, concealed in a closet, and ultimately moved to the storage unit. When police searched the child’s home, they discovered handcuffs inside an animal crate, along with clothing belonging to Cali, suggesting that the young girl’s life had been tragically short and filled with suffering.
8. A Complete Lack of Respect
While storage units are frequently used by killers attempting to conceal evidence, there are times when the remains found belong to people who died of entirely natural causes. The true crime, in these instances, occurs posthumously—at the hands of those entrusted with the task of treating their remains with respect and care.
In one such case, a Rhode Island man who won a storage auction was horrified to find the remains of two adults and one infant in his unit. The adults were so badly decomposed that their gender could not be determined, while the infant, found in a small coffin, was believed to be a female. The storage unit had been rented by Alfred Pennine, a funeral home operator from Providence. Dozens of additional remains were later uncovered in the funeral home he ran. As his crimes were exposed, Pennine took his own life.
7. A Long-Awaited Recognition
In some instances, human remains discovered in storage are not the result of criminal activity but rather the passing of time and tragic circumstances. In early 2022, Bob Blank, a storage auction winner, uncovered the forgotten story of a military veteran. Among the items he won was a sealed box containing cremated remains and various documents, including a letter from former President Ronald Reagan. A death certificate and Army discharge papers revealed the remains belonged to a World War II hero.
George Ralph Brady, a decorated soldier, passed away in 1984 at 59 years old, and his ashes were kept in a cardboard box for 38 years. After determining that Brady had no surviving family, the American Legion held a burial service with an honor guard and flag line. The once-overlooked veteran now rests at Riverside National Cemetery in California.
6. A Life's Work Reduced to Ashes
While most people use storage units to keep their personal belongings safe, some also utilize them for working on their property. Unfortunately, for one man in Russellville, Alabama, performing automobile repairs in a storage unit may have led to his tragic death.
On January 14, 2022, emergency responders arrived at a storage facility to find a fire had broken out. While initial reports about the number of affected units varied, they all confirmed one grim detail: a dead body had been discovered inside one of them. Further investigation revealed the deceased man had rented multiple units at the facility and often used them for vehicle repairs. Authorities suspect the man may have been using an alternative heat source that sparked the fire, but no foul play was suspected.
5. Greed Driven by Murder
Money has long been a powerful motivator for murder, and the act of hiding a victim’s remains while continuing to steal from them is unfortunately more common than one would like to believe. In one such case in Las Vegas, the bodies of an elderly couple were concealed in trash bins for a decade while their killer continued to steal their Social Security income. The remains were discovered in a unit at All Storage at the Lakes in 2015, although Joaquin and Eleanor Sierra had last been seen alive in 2003.
Their killer, Robert Dixon Dunn, reportedly met the couple at a nursing home where his own mother lived. After murdering them, he managed to continue stealing from them for years, moving around the country and using a fake identity. He was eventually caught after someone tipped off authorities about suspected fraud. Dunn told his ex-wife that he was hiding the bodies of his aunt and uncle, who supposedly committed suicide. However, the bodies were found to have drugs in their system and injuries consistent with a sharp object.
4. A Clue From a Bug
The lure of money doesn’t only draw evil strangers to potential victims. Family violence, whether between spouses, siblings, or even parents and children, is unfortunately not uncommon. In 2001, Las Vegas police charged Brookey Lee West with murdering her own mother and hiding the body in a trash can inside a storage unit. The remains of 68-year-old Christine Smith were discovered after a foul odor led police to seek a search warrant.
The unit, which also contained many of Smith’s personal items, had been rented by her daughter, though under a different last name. During the trial, it seemed the murderer might avoid justice since the remains were so decomposed that the coroner couldn’t determine a cause of death. West claimed her mother had died of natural causes, and the coroner could not definitively contradict this. But in a surprising turn, an entomologist proved the case for murder. Dr. Neal Haskell testified that the absence of blow flies on the body indicated she had been placed in the can either while still alive or shortly after death. West was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In an unexpected twist, Brookey Lee West made headlines again when she attempted to escape from prison. Disguised, she tried to make her way out but was recognized and apprehended just before reaching the exit.
3. A Wife Dismembered
One of the most disturbing cases involving remains found in a storage unit is that of Jessica Rey. On October 20, 2017, Rey gave birth in a Kansas City, Missouri, hotel room. Her husband, Justin, claimed she died shortly after childbirth, at times stating she had committed suicide, and other times asserting her death was from natural causes. After her death, Justin spent two days in the room with the corpse, the newborn baby, and their toddler. He then proceeded to dismember Jessica’s body in front of his children, placed the body parts in a cooler, and took them to a U-Haul storage facility. Workers at the facility grew suspicious and contacted the authorities.
Police arrived at the storage unit to find Rey there, along with his two small children and the dismembered remains of his wife. Rey was charged with child endangerment and sexual exploitation of a minor, after explicit photos were found on his phone during the investigation. He was convicted and sentenced to nearly nine years in prison. Additionally, he remains under investigation in connection to a separate murder case in California.
2. Horrific Hoarding
Not all cases involving remains in storage are linked to murder or greed. In some, they are tied to deep family secrets, psychological disorders, and profound grief. After Ann Bunch passed away from natural causes in 1995, her body was handed over to her family for burial. They built a custom casket to accommodate her hump, painted it blue, and loaded it into a van for transport to Alabama. However, the body never made it to its final resting place.
On her deathbed, Ann’s daughter, Barbie Hancock, confessed to her own daughter, Rebecca Fancher, that her mother’s remains were stored in unit B8 at U-Stor. Hancock initially claimed that the burial had been delayed due to bad weather and truck troubles, but other family members contested this version of events. Fancher’s ex-husband believes that Hancock’s grief over her mother’s passing, compounded by a hoarding compulsion, led her to keep the body close, possibly even in her home before it was moved to the storage unit. Eventually, the hoarding behavior resulted in their house being declared uninhabitable.
1. A Daughter’s Deceptive Plan
Even when murder isn’t involved, the desire for money can drive some individuals to commit unimaginable acts. After her father’s apparent natural death in June 1990, Judith Maria Broughton devised a scheme to continue receiving his Social Security benefits, starting in 1997. She leased a storage unit at Econo Self Storage in Lexington, Kentucky, where she concealed her father’s body while still collecting his retirement funds.
On January 8, 2014, authorities uncovered the mummified remains of Luther Broughton and charged Judith with stealing nearly a quarter of a million dollars. She pled guilty to the theft and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
