A human skull was discovered in the attic of a Tooele home Monday afternoon by contractors remodeling the roof.

Paul and Karen Dupaix had hired Superior Exterior to tear down and rebuild the roof of their 100 South Street home, which is almost 100 years old. But as the construction crew was pulling off shingles around 4 p.m., one of the workers noticed the skull through the slats underneath.

“I pulled back the bottom layer of shingles and I saw what looked like the top of a head,” said Fausto Hernandes, the contractor who discovered the skull. “I was really nervous as I started to peel off the other shingles, and then I saw the whole thing.”

The construction crew quickly notified the Dupaixs of the discovery and the family called police.“The skull is several years old and is quite decomposed,” said Tooele City Police Lt. Jorge Cholico. “We may bring in cadaver dogs and other resources to help us. We don’t know where the rest of the body is. There is quite a bit left uncovered in this situation.”

The Tooele County Medical Examiner removed the skull from the roof Monday evening for further examination and testing that will result in information such as the age of the skull. Forensic investigators hope to have more information by Thursday, although that timeframe may have to be extended somewhat, according to Tooele City Police Capt. Steve Newkirk.

Remodeling work on the house was stopped and the construction crew was dismissed after making the discovery.

The Dupaixs’ house was built in 1910 on land owned by Peter Droubay. It is unclear whether or not Droubay himself lived in the house, but according to the Tooele County Recorder’s Office, the house was purchased by a chiropractor named Heber J. McKay in 1928. McKay turned the house over to the Home Owners Loan Corporation in 1936 and it was purchased the same year by Rex and Helen Stutzneggar. The couple raised their family in the home for 64 years until the Dupaixs purchased it in 2000.

The skull was found resting between the attic ceiling and some storage cabinets that lined the attic wall. The roof had been re-shingled by a previous owner and there were two layers of shingles covering the skull’s resting place, according to Paul.

The discovery shook the Dupaix family and their seven children.

“How can you describe something like that?” said Dupaix. “I was shocked. That was in my attic. That was under my shingles.”

The roof was being repaired in order to put the house up for sale, according to Paul. That process will now be on hold while the investigation continues.

The family was not allowed to stay in the home Monday evening as the investigation proceeded. They spent the night at their LDS bishop’s house, but were allowed to return home Tuesday.

ntripp@tooeletranscript.com