The Case of the Hollywood Head: A Murderer Convicted with Only His Victim’s Body Parts

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5 Things to Know About the Case of the Severed ‘Hollywood Head’

In January of 2012, a severed head was discovered near a wooded trail near the iconic “Hollywood” sign. With the help of a cadaver dog, Los Angeles police found feet and hands about 50 yards away, buried in a shallow grave.

The victim was later identified as 66-year-old Hervey Medellin, a retired Mexicana Airlines clerk and art collector who walked his dog in the same popular park where his body parts were found.

• For more on the case of the Hollywood Head, watch “Hollywood Horror Story” on our 10-part true crime show, People Magazine Investigates, airing Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery

In the ensuing months, the case generated widespread speculation, including theories Medellin’s death was tied to a Mexican drug cartel or to Luca Magnotta, a Canadian porn actor who allegedly dismembered a Chinese exchange student and sent some of his body parts to members of the Canadian parliament before he was finally caught.

Medellin’s boyfriend, Gabriel Campos-Martinez was later charged with one count of murder, and later convicted for the gruesome crime.

From the start of the investigation, there were signs that something was amiss regarding Campos-Martinez: He told friends and police that Medellin went to Tijuana on a spur-of-the-moment business trip, but investigators couldn’t find any records that Medellin entered Mexico at the Tijuana border checkpoint. Then, a week after he went missing, Campos-Martinez transferred Medellin’s social security checks to a Wells Fargo account he owned jointly with Medellin shortly after he disappeared.

• Watch the People Magazine Investigates After Show, on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the PEN app on Apple TV, Roku Players, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, iOS and Android devices

Police also found on one of the couple’s computers an Internet search for sausage-making tools and meat-saws. The user also searched for the Church of Euthanasia. While at the site, the user accessed an article entitled, “Butchering of the Human Carcass for Human Consumption.”

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Long after his head was found, hunks of Medellin’s flesh were discovered in March of 2014 by a city worker who was excavating around the Bronson Caves, an old quarry that appeared as the entrance of the Batcave in the 60’s “Batman” TV series. The human parts were identified on Sept. 22 as belonging to Medellin.

But, despite this, police were never able to determine where Medellin was killed or where his torso was.

Watch the “Hollywood Horror Story” episode of People Magazine Investigates this Monday (10 p.m. ET) on Investigation Discovery.