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Distinctive tattoo might help solve death investigation
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Police are asking for the public's help in identifying remains that were found in the backyard of a Glendale home.
The remains were found on June 8 near 53rd Avenue and Cactus Road by a landscaping crew.
The remains were found in the side yard of the home, but the people that live there had no idea, according to police.
"The body is a juvenile male, between the ages of 15 to 16 years old with brown hair & approximately 6’ tall," Glendale Police wrote on X.
Police say he has a dental bridge, a tattoo reading "blessed" on his forearm and a mirror image of it on the underside of his arm.
If you have any information, you're asked to call police at 623-930-3000.
Glendale Police need help identifying remains that were found in the backyard of a home near 53rd Avenue and Cactus Road. (Glendale PD)
Could a tattoo help in this case?
Glendale Police spent weeks trying to identify the body, but are now turning to the public for help.
A unique tattoo might help solve this case.
Jason Ballard has crafted countless tattoos over the years at his shop, Inkenstein Tattoo in Glendale. He says most want something one of a kind.
"You obviously want to see something that’s unique to that person," said Jason Ballard of Inkenstein Tattoo Company.
Glendale Police say they’ve been talking with tattoo artists since June 8 to see if they can help.
"That landscaping crew is the one that discovered this body. I can tell you the condition is pretty severe. They were pretty badly decomposed," Jose Santiago with the Glendale Police Department said.
But, a distinctive tattoo remained.
"The fact he did the mirror image on the other side – does that do it?" Ballard said. "That definitely would narrow it down because I’ve never done that."
It’s not clear how long the body had been there, but there was a smell.
"There had been a few times, if the wind was right … It was a smell I never had smelled so it was hard to place it," Brian Cartnell, a neighbor said.
Glendale PD says it's hard to say this is definitely a homicide. For now, it's a death investigation.
"We are unsure of manner of death, whether it was self-inflicted or inflicted by somebody else," Santiago said.