DNA testing reveals skull found in a wall belonged to teen who died 150 years ago

DNA testing has identified a skull found in the wall of an Illinois house as belonging to an 18-year-old woman named Esther Granger who died after the American Civil War. The skull was discovered during renovations in 1978 and was recently matched to Granger through a DNA sample provided by her great-great-grandson. Granger died in 1866 after complications from childbirth, and her body may have been stolen by grave robbers. The mystery surrounding the skull, which had been kept in storage for almost 50 years, remains unsolved. Despite this, Granger’s descendant found closure and a connection to his family’s history through the discovery.