Human remains discovered in a Wilmington park more than 15 years ago have been identified as those of Hannah Graham Kleitz, a 29-year-old woman who died of illness in 1907, police in Delaware have said.
Partial skeletal remains and a skull were found in a wooded section of Sellers Park, near Edgemoor Road, on 5 June 2011. A forensic examination established that they belonged to a white woman aged between 25 and 50, but investigators were unable to determine her identity for years.
DNA identifies woman whose remains were found in Wilmington park
New Castle County police reopened the investigation using forensic genetic genealogy after entering a DNA profile from the remains into national databases.
In January, detectives found a possible connection through a family tree. A relative then told them that Kleitz’s mausoleum and grave at Riverview Cemetery had been unlawfully entered and desecrated in 2002.
Police said remains resembling those later recovered at Sellers Park had been removed from the grave. With the consent and assistance of Kleitz’s extended family, investigators exhumed what remained at the cemetery and carried out a DNA comparison.
The testing confirmed that the remains found in the park belonged to Kleitz.
Her family, investigators and others involved in the case gathered at Riverview Cemetery on 27 August to reunite the remains and return them to her mausoleum.
New Castle County police said the development had brought closure to Kleitz’s relatives and restored her to her rightful resting place.
