19th century teenage skull found in the wall of an Illinois home: DNA testing

ST. CHARLES, Ill. –

Researchers have determined that a skull discovered in the wall of an Illinois home in 1978 was that of an Indiana teenager who died more than 150 years ago, authorities announced Thursday.

According to a timeline from the Kane County Coroner’s Office, the property owner found the skull while renovating the Batavia home. Police launched an investigation, but the case stalled and the skull was banished to the Batavia Depot Museum for storage.

The skull was forgotten until March 2021, when museum supervisors discovered it during an inventory audit. They called the police, who sent the skull to the coroner’s office. Working with Othram Laboratories, a forensic lab in Texas that supports law enforcement, the agency was able to piece together a DNA profile of the skull that suggested it was that of Esther Granger, a 17-year-old woman who died during childbirth in Merrillville. Indiana, in 1866.

Kane County Coroner Rob Russell is pictured with an artist’s rendering of Esther Granger’s likeness as he speaks during a news conference on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in St. Charles, Illinois (Brian Hill/Daily Herald via AP)

Investigators matched the DNA profile to Granger’s great-grandson, Wayne Silvar, allowing them to confirm her identity. Officials buried the skull at the city’s expense last August at the West Batavia Cemetery.

It is unclear how Granger’s skull ended up in Batavia. Burial records show she was buried in Lake County, Indiana. Kane County Coroner Rob Russell speculated in a news release that grave robbers may have exhumed her body to sell it to doctors who want to learn more about human anatomy.