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DNA Analysis Solves Mystery Of Human Skull Found During Home Renovations: “Grave Robbing”
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DNA Analysis Solves Mystery Of Human Skull Found During Home Renovations: “Grave Robbing”

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A woman’s skull was discovered inside the walls of a suburban Illinois home back in 1978, and now—almost 50 years later—we finally know her name.

Esther Granger was identified by the Kane County Coroner’s Office on Thursday as an Indiana teenager who died more than 150 years ago.

Kane County Coroner Robert Russell said in a news conference that the girl was born in October 1848 but died at just 17 years old in 1866, likely due to complications during childbirth.

Highlights
  • Advanced DNA analysis identified a skull found in 1978 as Esther Granger, who died in 1866.
  • Forensic advancements helped solve the cold case decades later.
  • Granger's great-great grandson's DNA confirmed the identity.

The identity of a woman whose skull was found in the walls of an Illinois home in 1978 has finally been revealed

Image credits: Monica Silvestre/Pexels

A resident was renovating his home in 1978, in the small city of Batavia, Illinois, when he stumbled upon the skull.

He contacted the police and authorities immediately launched an investigation.

There wasn’t much officials could do with the limited technology at the time, and the only conclusion they could make was that the skull belonged to a young woman, most likely in her 20s, who lived before the 1900s.

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Image credits: Kane County Coroner’s Office

The case eventually grew cold and the girl was forgotten—until March 2021.

Employees rediscovered the skull at the Batavia Depot Museum during an inventory audit, Russell said.

It was handed over to the police, who later sent it to the coroner’s office. As soon as it was linked to the 1978 report, the investigation was reopened.

Advancements in modern forensic science technology have sped up the process that led to a breakthrough in the case

Image credits: Kane County Coroner’s Office

In 2023, Kane County officials contacted Othram Laboratories—a forensic laboratory in Texas that assisted law enforcement in solving cold cases—where they were able to build a DNA profile for the woman, outlining a family tree and locating any living relatives.

Authorities contacted Granger’s great-great grandson, Wayne Svilar, who submitted his DNA for testing—and it turned out to be a match.

Svilar, now a retired police sergeant from Portland, Oregon, was shocked to learn about the case involving his distant relative, according to CNN.

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Image credits: Stephanie Ho/pexels

“To be completely honest, we didn’t believe a word of it,” he said. “It took two or three phone calls for me to believe it.”

The 69-year-old added that although the news came as a shock, it has brought a sense of closure to the family. 

He’s now taken a job with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office to solve cold cases, following his involvement in this investigation.

It’s still unclear how Granger’s skull ended up so far away from her original burial site

Image credits: Ksenia Chernaya/pexels

The 17-year-old was buried in Merrillville, Indiana, but her skull was found almost 80 miles northwest of the site.

In a press release, Russell said he suspected grave robbers may have dug up her body to sell to physicians, in an attempt to learn more about human anatomy, but nothing has been confirmed.

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“There is no absolute answer as to how Esther ended up in that wall or where the rest of her body is located, but being a victim of grave robbing does fit the bill,” he said.

Granger’s remains have since been reburied in the West Batavia Cemetery. 

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Michelle Tian

Michelle Tian

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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Hi, there! I'm a newswriter at Bored Panda, born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. I have a bachelor's degree in journalism from Boston University, as well as a philosophy minor. A few of my other hobbies include dancing, reading, cooking, or listening to a true crime podcast.

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Michelle Tian

Michelle Tian

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Hi, there! I'm a newswriter at Bored Panda, born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. I have a bachelor's degree in journalism from Boston University, as well as a philosophy minor. A few of my other hobbies include dancing, reading, cooking, or listening to a true crime podcast.

Ugnė Lazauskaitė

Ugnė Lazauskaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I am employed as a Visual Editor in the news team. I make sure you have the best pictures near the most interesting text. In general all day I am looking at all you favourite celebrities facies and I am geting payed for it!

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Ugnė Lazauskaitė

Ugnė Lazauskaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

I am employed as a Visual Editor in the news team. I make sure you have the best pictures near the most interesting text. In general all day I am looking at all you favourite celebrities facies and I am geting payed for it!

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Insomniac
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is anyone else seeing Princess Leia? Could she have been Carrie Fischer's ancestor? Either way, 17 is too young to die, especially in childbirth, of all things. I know it was normal at the time, but I am glad that most people actually let girls grow into women before they are expected to have children these days. Rest in peace, sweetheart. You deserved far better from life and death than you got.

Jackie Rice
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"The 17-year-old was buried in Merrillville, Indiana..." How come the rest of her remains are missing then?

Kraneia The Dancing Dryad
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If her body was dug up for research as the story implies, the rest of her remains are probably still out there somewhere. Even today, if you actively donate your body to science, that doesn't mean your corpse will remain in one piece. They may send different bits to different places.

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Insomniac
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is anyone else seeing Princess Leia? Could she have been Carrie Fischer's ancestor? Either way, 17 is too young to die, especially in childbirth, of all things. I know it was normal at the time, but I am glad that most people actually let girls grow into women before they are expected to have children these days. Rest in peace, sweetheart. You deserved far better from life and death than you got.

Jackie Rice
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"The 17-year-old was buried in Merrillville, Indiana..." How come the rest of her remains are missing then?

Kraneia The Dancing Dryad
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If her body was dug up for research as the story implies, the rest of her remains are probably still out there somewhere. Even today, if you actively donate your body to science, that doesn't mean your corpse will remain in one piece. They may send different bits to different places.

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