Lucas Dawe, 20, found the skull exposed within a mausoleum-style tomb in an Anglican cemetery.

The Newfoundland man, whose theft shocked the community of Conception Bay South, which lies 20 miles south of the provincial capital. St. John’s, pleaded guilty last month to interfering with human remains, Canadian Press reports.

He expressed remorse before Judge David Orr.

“I was intoxicated, drunk, when I did it, and I do feel bad, and I’m sorry for doing it,” he told the judge. “It’s no excuse.”

It transpired that the skull came from the grave of a married couple, John and Mary Butler, who died in the mid-1880s.

Reverend Wayne Parsons, rector at All Saints Anglican church which oversees the graveyard, was called in to explain the impact of the case on the community.

“We want to reiterate today the sacredness of cemeteries, and those who go on before us in the faith, that their final resting spots are sacred and not to be disturbed under any circumstances,” Parsons said.

“Obviously as a church, at the end of the day, we have to bring light into sometimes very dark places in society. The church is called to do that,” Parsons said, before he nodded at Dawe as he left the witness stand.