DNA tests identify 19th-century teenager's skull found in Illinois home's wall

ST. CHARLES, Ill. — Investigators 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 provided by the Kane County Coroner's Office, the property owner found the skull while renovating the home in Batavia. Police launched an investigation but the case went cold and the skull was relegated to the Batavia Depot Museum for storage.

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

The investigators matched the DNA profile to Granger's great-great grandson, Wayne Silvar, allowing them to confirm her identity. Officials interred the skull at West Batavia Cemetery this past August at the city's expense.

It's unclear how Granger's skull ended up in Batavia. Burial records indicate she was interred in Lake County, Indiana. Kane County Coroner Rob Russell speculated in a news release that grave robbers may have dug up her body to sell it to physicians looking to learn more about human anatomy.