Skull found in Penn. pond belonged to Roger Hart who tried to kill wife in 2004

A 13-year-old boy’s frightening discovery of a skull in a Pennsylvania pond two years ago took a darker turn Wednesday — when prosecutors revealed the remains belonged to a man who tried to kill his wife more than 20 years ago.

Dylan Bond stumbled upon the cranium back in April 2022 while he was looking for frogs, and the skull was then sent to Mercyhurst University for analysis, according to reports.

The Berks County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that the remains have been identified as Pottstown resident Roger Hart, who allegedly tried to kill his spouse in April 2004 before he went on the lam.

Shortly after he fled, Hart’s car was later found near the retention pond with the keys and wallet still inside, Fox 43 reported. He wasn’t seen after that discovery.

Mercyhurst University determined the skull belonged to a male and had been in the body of water for more than 10 years, prosecutors said, according to the outlet.

Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI then put the skull through advanced DNA testing, which helped lead to Hart’s identification.

A cause of death could not be pinpointed because of the condition of the skull and the lack of other skeletal remains.

Bond was outside near his aunt and uncle’s home two years ago when he made the discovery.

“I came across something on my toe and I looked down and I couldn’t see it,” the boy told ABC 6 at the time. “But I scooped it up with my stick, and at first, I thought turtle.”

“I was freaked out … I’m only here for two days,” he then said of discovering what it really was. “I didn’t think I was going to come across a human skull.”