Crime & Safety

Skull Found in Creek Three Months Ago Likely From White Man With Broken Nose

A forensic anthropologist report on the skull discovered in October yielded some clues but did not identify who the remains came from.

The toothless skull found by land surveyors near Manhattan Creek probably belonged to a white man older than 30 with a broken nose, according to a forensic pathologist's report.

"The decedent is most likely a male, white, 30 years of age or older," reads the report received by Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil's office.

"Although no teeth were recovered, an abscess on the right (upper jaw) suggests the possibility of an oral infection," the report said. "Additionally, a healing fracture of the nasal bone is suggestive of a broken nose."

The lower jaw to the skull found in October was missing, said O'Neil, who noted that the "majority" of the teeth from the upper jaw came out "long after the man was dead."

While the forensic anthropologist's report revealed the man died at least a year before his skull was found, there is no telling how long ago he actually passed away, O'Neil said. The manner in which the man met his end also remains a mystery.

"Due to the limited amount of recovered skeletal remains, no other characteristics could be determined," the report said.

After the gruesome find, police checked cemeteries closest to the recovery site west of Rowell Avenue between Manhattan and Brown roads to see if the skull could have come from an eroded grave, but that scenario appears unlikely, the O'Neil said said.

While the report shed little light on who the skull came from and how it ended up by the creek, officials hope DNA testing might lead to its identification.

"A portion of the skull was sent to the University of North Texas for DNA analysis," according to a statement from O'Neil's office.

Any DNA extracted from the skull will be entered into two missing persons databases, the statement said.

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