MEMPHIS, TN – Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons announced Thursday that the state Grand Jury for Shelby County had indicted a Memphis man for the murder of a woman whose remains were found buried in the man’s yard.
The Grand Jury indicted Mark Skolburg, 45, for second degree murder. On January 3, 2007 Memphis police were called to Skolburg’s home at 520 Carpenter, where, according to the affidavit of complaint, two people spotted what they believed to be a human skull in the yard. Police officers then discovered a badly decomposed skeleton buried in the yard. The victim was later identified as Amalya Jones, 28. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide and determined the victim died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Skolburg is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $2 million bond.
Second degree murder is Class A felony which, if convicted, carries a possible sentence of 15-60 years in prison. Second degree murder is a charge covered by the D.A.’s “No Deals” policy on violent crimes. Exceptions to the policy are made for legal or ethical reasons.