Forensic experts have confirmed that human remains found at the old Pentridge Prison site in Melbourne are those of notorious Australian bushranger Ned Kelly.
After an exhaustive 20-month investigation, scientists and doctors today revealed that an almost complete skeleton found buried in a wooden axe box were those of the famous outlaw, who was executed in 1880.
A DNA sample taken from Melbourne school teacher Leigh Olver, who is Ned’s sister Ellen’s great-grandson, confirmed the remains were those of Kelly.
The presence of the remains at Pentridge Prison had been long rumoured but never confirmed, until now.
Kelly’s remains were mixed among those of 33 others that were exhumed from Pentridge in 2009. His skull was stolen from a glass display case at the Old Melbourne Gaol in 1978 - the mystery surrounding its whereabouts sparking the investigation that led to the discovery.
Attorney-General Robert Clark said it was a remarkable achievement by forensic teams in Australia and around the world.
“To think a group of scientists could identify the body of a man who was executed more than 130 years ago, moved and buried in a haphazard fashion among 33 other prisoners, most of whom are not identified, is amazing,’’ he said.
The exhaustive forensic analysis was carried out by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM), in collaboration with the forensic DNA laboratory EAAF in Argentina.
It included input from historians, pathologists, anthropologists, odontologists, radiologists, and ballistics and DNA experts.
Mr Clark said the analysis revealed Kelly’s remains were among those transferred from the Old Melbourne Gaol, where Kelly was hanged, to Pentridge Prison in 1929 and then exhumed again in 2009.
The investigation was launched in November 2009 when West Australian farmer Tom Baxter handed a skull to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine that he claimed was Kelly’s.
Mr Baxter said he had been in possession of the skull for years. Kelly’s skull was stolen from a glass display case at the Old Melbourne Gaol in 1978.
Earlier this month, the Victorian coroner rejected claims the skull handed to the state was that of Kelly, however Mr Baxter’s claims sparked an investigation that led to today’s announcement.
As well as trying to identify the skull, Professor Stephen Cordner and his team of forensic experts at the VIFM began trying to identify Ned Kelly’s remains from among the remains exhumed from Pentridge.
Through a series of CT scans, X-rays, pathology, odontology and anthropology tests plus extensive historical research and DNA analysis, the team was able to positively identify the remains.
The identification was completed when a DNA sample taken from Mr Olver was compared to a DNA sample taken from the remains.
In 2008, archaeologists located three mass burial plots at the old Pentridge Prison containing the remains of prisoners executed at the Melbourne Gaol and reburied at Pentridge in 1929.
Kelly was a celebrity even in 1929 when the bodies were dug up from the Melbourne Gaol and moved, and when the mass burial plots were discovered archaeologists said some souveniring of Kelly’s remains may have taken place.
Among his body parts thought at the time to have been souvenired was his head, which was removed immediately after his execution.
Some key body features, including a distinguishing wrist injury suffered at the Glenrowan siege, would have helped with identification of Kelly.
Consultations will begin shortly with Ned Kelly’s family to determine an appropriate resting place for the remains.
Investigations are continuing to identify the skull Mr Baxter had handed to the institute.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/ned-kellys-remains-found-20110901-1jmqi.html#ixzz1WetDhS11
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