Investigators hope to identify bones found Chicago area home 45 years ago
BATAVIA, Ill. (CBS) -- The Kane County Coroner's office is trying to crack a cold case dating back 45 years – when a skull was discovered during a home renovation in Batavia.
In November 1978, a couple was remodeling a home on Wilson Street in Batavia, when they found the skeletal remains. The resident said a bone had fallen from within the wall while a baseboard was being removed – and police later found more skeletal remains behind the wall.
Initially, the skull underwent testing at the Northern Illinois University Anthropology Department – and it was determined that it belonged to a woman in her 20s. The skull was already decades old when it was found 45 years ago, the Kane County Coroner's office said.
The case was place in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, but it went cold.
Investigators are now partnering with Othram, a private DNA lab in Texas, to help solve the case and identify the woman.
"What we're hoping to get is a genetic profile of the family; of this person - Now it could be, you know, several generations away – and through that, we would create leads for us to do some more gumshoe type of investigation," said Kane County Coroner Rob Russell.
You can help fund this research by donating to a crowdfunding effort at DNASolves.com.