Burned human remains found in Barrington Hills 44 years ago ID'd as Joseph Caliva

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Human remains found in Barrington Hills 44 years ago ID'd
Human remains found in Barrington Hills in 1979 have finally been identified 44 years later as Joseph Caliva thanks to advanced DNA testing.

BARRINGTON HILLS, Ill. (WLS) -- Human remains found in Barrington Hills in 1979 have finally been identified 44 years later thanks to DNA testing advances.

In August 1979, Barrington Hills police responded to a call from a horseback rider who had found human remains in a grassy area near Old Dundee Road. At the scene they found an unidentified man's partially charred torso. His legs had been severed and his head and arms were missing.

Forensic analysis could only determine the man would have been less than 50 years old, and was estimated to be 5 ft. 7 in. or 5 ft. 8 in. tall, and that he had been killed elsewhere. Law enforcement could not identify the victim.

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Wednesday, advanced DNA testing finally identified the remains as those of Joseph A. Caliva who was reported missing from Barrington Hills when he was 27 years old.

No one has ever been arrested for this murder.

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