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

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (AP) — Investigators have determined that a skull found in the wall of an Illinois home in 1978 was that of an Indiana teenager who died more than 150 years ago. The property owner found the skull while renovating the house in Batavia. The Kane County Coroner’s Office announced Thursday that DNA tests show the skull belongs to 17-year-old Esther Granger. She died during childbirth at age 17 in Merrillville, Indiana, in 1866. She was buried in Lake County, Indiana. It’s unclear how her skull ended up in Batavia. Coroner Rob Russell speculates that grave robbers may have dug Granger’s body up to sell to physicians studying anatomy.