Police in Delaware have identified the remains of a woman found in Sellers Park, Wilmington in 2011 as Hannah Graham Kleitz, who died from a medical illness in 1907. The identification was made after a DNA profile was taken from the remains and compared to an ancestral information database last January, revealing a familial connection. A facial reconstruction of the skull by a forensic art professor helped aid in the identification. The remains were returned to Riverview Cemetery on August 27, where they had been desecrated in 2002.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
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Story summary
New Castle County Police in Delaware have finally identified remains found 15 years ago, after DNA technology improvements allowed for a new investigation into the case. The remains, including a skull, were discovered in Sellers Park in Wilmington in June 2011. Initially, police could only determine that the woman was between 25 and 50 years old and white, but couldn't identify her. The department's Cold Case Squad re-examined the case in 2019, using a three-dimensional scan of the skull to create a facial reconstruction. A forensic art professor at George Mason University, Joe Mullins, developed the reconstruction, which helped identify the woman as Hannah Graham Kleitz, who died from a medical illness in 1907 at the age of 29.
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Police in Delaware have identified the remains of a woman who died in 1907 after her skull was found 15 years ago.
asserted
skull → identify → 1907
New Castle County Police announced Saturday that remains, including the skull, found in the woods of Sellers Park in Wilmington in June 2011 were identified as Hannah Graham Kleitz, a 29-year-old woman who died more than a century ago from a medical illness.
asserted
who → announce → illness
Police initially had little information to go off of.
asserted
Police → have → information
They determined the remains belonged to a white female between the ages of 25 and 50 years old.
asserted
remains → determine → years
Police took a DNA profile from her remains, but they couldn’t identify her at the time.
asserted
they → take → time
The department’s Cold Case Squad started investigating the case in 2019.
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Squad → investigate → 2019
"From 2011 to 2019, there's a lot of scientific changes with DNA and science, and it was a good time to review this case," Master Corporal Richard Chambers with New Castle County Police told Philadelphia news outlet WPVI.
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Chambers → be → WPVI
Investigators obtained a three-dimensional scan of Graham Kleitz’s skull and gave it to Joe Mullins, a forensic art professor at George Mason University.
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Investigators → obtain → University
Mullins then developed a facial reconstruction to help identify the woman.
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Mullins → develop → woman
"These aren't skulls; these are lost loved ones that have lost their identity," Mullins told WPVI.
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Mullins → lose → WPVI
Mullins explained the facial reconstruction process: "It's just a skull on an armature.
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It → explain → armature
Then you slowly start to build up the muscles, the tissue depth markers, the nose, the lips; the features start to reveal themselves.”
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features → start → themselves
In the meantime, investigators reached out to people across the country who voluntarily shared their ancestral information and DNA profiles to try to find the woman's loved ones.
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who → reach → ones
Investigators found a potential familial connection through a genealogical tree last January.
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Investigators → find → tree
When they reached out to the possible relative, they were told about a woman whose mausoleum and grave at Riverview Cemetery in Wilmington were illegally accessed and desecrated in 2002.
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mausoleum → reach → 2002
“Remains similar to those discovered at Sellers Park had been removed from the grave,” New Castle County Police wrote in a Facebook post about the cold case.
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Police → discover → case
Investigators later confirmed through a DNA comparison that the remains belonged to Graham Kletiz.
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remains → confirm → Kletiz
On August 27, Graham Kletiz’s extended family, along with authorities who worked on the case, gathered at Riverview Cemetery to return her remains to her mausoleum.
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who → work → mausoleum
“The New Castle County Division of Police sincerely thanks everyone who contributed their time, compassion, and dedication to helping resolve this case, provide closure to Hannah’s family, and ensure Hannah could finally return to her rightful resting place,” the Facebook post read.
uncertain
post → thank → place
The Independent has reached out to the Wilmington Police Department for comment on whether anyone has been charged in connection with the desecration of Graham Kletiz’s grave.
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anyone → reach → grave
