Skeletal remains found in walls of home ID'd as woman missing since 2015
HOUSTON, Texas -- Skeletal remains found inside the walls of a Heights home last year have finally been identified.
Officials in Harris County say the remains are that of Mary Cerruti, 61, a woman reported missing in 2015.
The skeletal remains were found last March by the new owner of the 1930's cottage on Allston Street, where Cerruti lived.
The father of one of the new renters told Eyewitness News they were moving boxes into the attic when they noticed the remains in a gap between some plywood.
Forensic scientists were considering circumstantial evidence to officially identity the remains after DNA samples sent to a north Texas lab came back as inconclusive.
Authorities trying methods other than DNA to identify remains found in the Heights
The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office used DNA from a few of Cerruti's cousins, but those results were unable to confirm the identity of the body.
Parents, children and siblings are better for DNA comparisons, but Mary had no living close relatives.
Investigators said the skeletal remains were in a badly decomposed state, with only glasses and shoes intact.
The medical examiner said the bones likely belonged to a white female who was over the age of 40 years old, leading investigators to believe these were Cerruti's remains.
How Cerruti's body made it into the attic is still a mystery.
Skeletal remains found in previous home of missing person
