Head found by jogger in St. Pete identified as 80-year-old man

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Police say they’ve identified a man whose head was found last summer in St. Petersburg by using DNA evidence.

The human head was found on July 7, 2020. Police say a jogger found it near the intersection of 38th Avenue South and 31st Street South and called 911.

The St. Petersburg Police Department now, nearly 10 months later, they’ve identified the head as that of Donald Edward Coston. Coston was 80 years old at the time and would have been 81 on July 24 of last year.

Police say Coston’s cause of death is still under investigation.

“We have little information about the last few days of his life,” a spokesperson said. “We strongly encourage anyone with details on his whereabouts in early July 2020 to contact us.”

Anyone with information is asked to call (727) 893-4823. Anonymous tips can also be sent via text message by texting TIP-411 with the letters SPPD with the tip information.