Kanecountyconnects.com
The identity of a partial skull found behind a wall in a Batavia home in 1978 has finally been confirmed as Esther Granger, a 17-year-old woman who died in 1866 in Merriville, Indiana, likely from childbirth complications.
The remains were first found in November 1978, when a couple remodeling a Wilson Street home uncovered a bone, initially thought to be a lower jaw, inside a wall. Further investigation revealed a partial skull, which was then sent to Northern Illinois University’s Anthropology Department, where it was confirmed to be human. Early testing suggested the woman was in her mid-20s at the time of death, and the skull was significantly older than its 1978 discovery date.
The skull was later donated to the Batavia Historical Society, where it remained until 2021. At that time, it was turned over to the Batavia Police Department, which contacted the Kane County Coroner. The case was assigned to the cold case division, and a profile was created in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). Although NamUs did not provide an identification, it facilitated collaboration with Othram, a Texas-based forensic genetic genealogy company. Using advanced DNA techniques, the Kane County Coroner’s Office and Othram successfully identified the remains, making this the oldest identification in Othram’s history. The process was partly funded through a $7,500 crowdfunding campaign…