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Police questioned a Southern California man after the people who bought his former home found a human skull and bones buried in the backyard, KNBC-TV reported Sunday.

"It's scary to know," one neighbor told the station. "You don't know who that person was, how long they've been there."

The new homeowners made their creepy discovery while digging in the backyard of their Santa Ana, California property. Authorities said the previous owner, Larry T. Dominguez, owned the home for more than 20 years, but had amassed more than 15 liens and judgements on the property. Neighbors described him as a "hoarder" who often had "strangers" living in the house. One neighbor said Dominguez lost the house after failing to make insurance payments.

KCBS-TV reported that the current owners, who were not identified, bought the property from Dominguez after it burned down in 2006. Santa Ana police said the owners were not being questioned in the investigation, and that an anthropologist was scheduled to examine the remains on Monday to determine how long they had been buried.

Watch KNBC's report on the skull and bones found on the property, aired Sunday, below.