Illinois woman found shot to death in 1976 finally identified – NBC Chicago

After nearly 50 years without answers, authorities in Grundy County, Illinois, will finally reveal the identity of a woman found shot to death in a farm field in 1976.

According to the Grundy County Coroner's Office, a press conference will be held Thursday after DNA technology allowed them to identify the victim over the past several months.

The woman, believed to be between 15 and 27 years old, was found shot to death in a ditch near a farm in rural Seneca on October 2, 1976. A farmer found her body along rural U.S. Route 6 on this fateful road. day and called the police.

After efforts to identify her failed, she was buried in an unmarked grave at Braceville-Gardner Cemetery in November 1976.

According to Coroner John Callahan, his office reopened the case in 2017, hoping to use forensic technology to try to identify the victim in the case. His body was exhumed in December that year, with experts obtaining DNA samples to compare against a national database.

Limited identifying characteristics have been revealed over the years, but Thursday will mark the culmination of efforts to identify the woman.