19th century teenager’s skull found in the wall of an Illinois house: DNA tests

ST. CHARLES, Ill. –

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

A property owner found a skull while renovating a home in Batavia, according to a timeline provided by the Kane County coroner’s office. Police launched an investigation, but the case was dropped and the skull was sent to the Batavia Depot Museum for storage.

The skull was forgotten until March 2021, when museum workers discovered it during an inventory audit. They called the police, who sent the skull to the coroner’s office. Working with Othram Laboratories, a Texas crime lab that assists law enforcement, they were able to create a DNA profile from the skull that suggested it belonged to Esther Granger, a 17-year-old woman who died during childbirth in Merrillville. In Indiana in 1866

Kane County Coroner Rob Russell is pictured with an artist’s version of Esther Granger’s likeness while speaking at a press conference, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in St. Charles, Illinois (Brian Hill/Daily Herald via AP)

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

It is unclear how Granger’s skull ended up in Batavia. Burial records indicate she was buried 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 to doctors wanting to learn more about human anatomy.