Investigators used genetic genealogy and the DNA Doe Project to identify a skull found in Houlton, Wisconsin, in October 2002 as 92-year-old Alyce Catharina Peterson. A 25% DNA match from a distant relative who uploaded their profile to a public database helped lead to the identification. Authorities have charged 57-year-old Benjamin Carl Hanson of Bayport, Minnesota, with hiding a corpse and felony theft. The St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation is ongoing.
23-Year Cold Case Solved: Genetic Genealogy Identifies 92-Year-Old — Funeral Director Charged
A human skull discovered in western Wisconsin in 2002 has been identified using genetic genealogy, leading to charges against a Minnesota man in connection with the case.
Skull Identified After 23 Years
In October 2002, a group of Boy Scouts hiking in Houlton, Wisconsin, found a plastic bag containing a human skull. Working with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office, volunteers and investigators from the DNA Doe Project used genetic genealogy and public DNA databases to identify the remains as those of 92-year-old Alyce Catharina Peterson of Wisconsin.
How Genetic Genealogy Helped
Investigators traced the unidentified DNA to ancestral lines in Sweden and built family trees from matches in public databases. That process produced a roughly 25% DNA match to a distant relative who had uploaded their profile to a public database — a link that helped narrow the investigation and ultimately led to Peterson's identification.
'So, our work on this case consisted of looking at DNA matches either from Sweden or with roots from Sweden, building those family trees back in time and then forward to the United States with the hope of identifying St. Croix County Jane Doe,' a representative said.
Timeline And Local Connections
According to a criminal complaint, Peterson died of natural causes at a Saint Paul, Minnesota, hospital in 2001 — roughly fifteen months before the skull was found. In 2001, Benjamin Carl Hanson, now 57 and of Bayport, Minnesota, was the funeral director at Simonet Funeral Home in Oak Park Heights and handled Peterson's funeral arrangements.
Investigators noted that the locations where Peterson died, where her funeral arrangements were made, where she lived in Stillwater, and the ravine where the skull was found are all within a travelable area. They also observed the recovered skull lacked teeth, a detail consistent with it belonging to an elderly, edentulous person.
'And in spite of the fact that she had a death certificate, we knew she died in 2001, and there was all this other evidence that made it tricky for us to understand how her skull could've ended up in a ravine. We did eventually identify her as a candidate and put her forward before later DNA testing confirmed that it was her,' investigators added.
Charges And Ongoing Investigation
Authorities have charged Benjamin Carl Hanson with hiding a corpse and with felony theft of more than $2,500 in connection with the case. The St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office says the matter remains an active criminal investigation.
Genetic genealogy has become a powerful tool for solving cold cases by linking unidentified remains to living relatives through DNA databases and family-tree research. In this case, a single uploaded profile provided a critical lead more than two decades after the remains were discovered.
