Skull found during home renovations in 1978 identified as woman who died more than 150 years ago

By Sara Smart, CNN

(CNN) — The skull of a teen from the 1800s was found more than 45 years ago during a home renovation project in suburban Chicago – thanks to the advancement of DNA technology, we finally know her name.

Esther Granger was identified by the Kane County Coroner’s Office on Thursday as the woman whose skull was found in 1978, but she died more than 150 years earlier.

Granger was born in October 1848 in Indiana and was only 17 at the time of her death in 1866, when officials believe she died due to complications during childbirth, Kane County Coroner Robert Russell said in a news conference Thursday.

Her body was buried in Merrillville, Indiana, but years later, her skull was found in a home about 80 miles northwest in Batavia, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago.

In 1978, a Batavia resident was renovating his home when he discovered the skull in the walls, Russell explained.

The resident contacted the police and the official investigation into the case began.

Officials did what they could with DNA testing at the time, but all they were able to learn was the skull belonged to a young woman, likely in her 20s, who lived before the 1900s.

The case eventually grew cold.

The skull was stored at the Batavia Depot Museum and employees stumbled upon it again in March 2021 while cleaning, Russell said.

The skull was turned back into the police and officials linked this skull to the 1978 report, which renewed the investigation.

Advancements in forensic science technology and the use of forensic investigative genetic genealogy, which combines DNA analysis with traditional genealogy research, have allowed more breakthroughs with DNA evidence collection.

In 2023, Kane County officials contacted Othram, a Texas company that works on solving cold cases across the country, to assist with further DNA testing.

Othram officials built a DNA profile for the woman, which included a family tree, and located her living relatives.

Officials contacted Granger’s great-great grandson, Wayne Svilar, and he submitted his DNA for testing, which was a match, he said during Thursday’s news conference.

Svilar, 69, said he did not believe the news when he was first contacted by county officials in April about his great-great grandmother.

“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.”

Svilar, who is a retired police sergeant from Portland, Oregon, says there was a sense of shock and closure among the family with the identification news.

He added he’s been retired for awhile, but after being involved in the identification process, he’s recently taken a job with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office working with cold cases.

As for how Granger’s skull ended up 80 miles from her burial site, officials aren’t exactly sure, but they believe she was a victim of grave robbing.

“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,” Russell said.

Officials also believe it is possible the grave robbers could have sold her remains to be used as a cadaver to study medicine.

Granger’s remains were reburied at the West Batavia Cemetery.

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